Topsy Turvy
by Pchanny
Summary: While attempting to fix his snow globes, North accidentally finds himself in a another dimension. All is not right in this world, and he's going to need the help of a familiar Pooka to find his way back home. SLASH North/Bunnymund
1. Topsy Turvy

**This will become M in later chapters so I'm giving it an M rating now to save those people who are not interested in SLASH M/M/Violence/Tragedy fics from reading this fic. This is a very OOC fic. Everybody (North, Bunny, Sophie, Jamie, Tooth, Sandy, and Pitch) will be making an appearance sooner or later. This is something I put together for those who ship North/Bunnymund. Again if you are not into OOC (Out of Character*) and Slash stories then this is not for you. For everybody else I hope you enjoy the read! Please review if you can. Thanks guys!

**Topsy Turvy**

Christmas was just around the corner, and there was no time to waste. North was working extra hard in order to maintain all the list of toys being sent to the children of the world. His yetis were marching in and out of his office, looking for advice or informing North of problems they may have encountered along the way.

With the last yeti entering his room, he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Ah…what is it now?"

The yeti enters the room in a panic trying to explain to North about an incident that had occurred with the snow globes.

Frowing his brow he gets up and follows the Yeti.

They enter a room full of empty snow globes.

The Yeti rushes over and points over to a table full of what appears to be defected snow globes.

The sight was disturbing, seeing that he needed these globes in order for him to travel in a flick of an instance, this could possibly be a huge threat to Christmas.

Rolling up his red sleeves, revealing the words 'Naughty' and 'Nice' tattooed across his forearms, he takes a look at how bad the situation was.

Picking up a globe he gives it a shake.

The snow shows promise as it swishes in the water, but quickly turns into black muck rendering the globe useless.

Lifting up his head he stares at the ceiling, and lets out a flustered sigh.

"Get back to work. I take care of this."

The yeti tries to explain one last thing, but is shooed off.

North closes the door ensuring some privacy as he attempts to fix this globe fiasco.

Scratching his head, he gives another globe a shake and is sadden to see the same thing happen with that one.

"I don't understand. They were just working yesterday."

Hours have now passed since he started working on the globes.

Tired, he rubs his eyes and stretches.

He flings his head left and right, allowing his neck to snap back into place.

"Ugh! I've tried everything! It's as if today is Topsy Turvy Day!

Flustered he slams his hands onto the table giving it a good shake.

A globe teetering on the edge falls over and crashes on the floor.

A dark portal appears before North, but there are no images on the other side.

Surprised, he quickly stands up and backs away from the portal.

Curiosity soon gets the best of him as he carefully walks closer towards it.

Focused on what this portal entails, he is unaware of a roller skate lying by it.

"How strange. I wonder…"

He reaches up to touch it, but accidently steps on the skate instead.

"Whoa!"

Stumbling forward he falls directly into the portal.

A flash fills the room as the portal closes.

A knock at door is left unanswered, forcing the yeti to enter.

Looking around, he scratches his head when there is no sign of North.

While looking for any signs of his boss, the unexpected feeling of wetness underneath his foot forces him to look down.

He is surprised to a see a broken snow globe lying on the floor so carelessly.

Kneeling down, he picks up a shard of glass and examines it.

A sudden realization causes the yeti to panic.

Screaming gibberish he rushes out of North's workshop and searches for help.

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	2. The Brothel

**The Brothel**

The portal opens spitting North out in the process.

Falling face first into mud, North coughs and wipes his face clean.

Getting up on one knee, North coughs a little bit more before taking a look at his surroundings.

One thing becomes very apparent to him; wherever he was it wasn't the North Pole.

The area had a grungy look, it was dark out and the rain was beginning to pick up.

Without his jacket and hat, he quickly looks for shelter.

In the distance he can see what appears to be a pub.

"Hmm…looks like I'm in Scotland."

Nearing the pub, he notices two people casually standing outside smoking.

Flicking his cigarette, the man pulls the woman into a passionate kiss, blocking the door.

Seeing as they are adults, North attempts to simply walk through them to reach the pub.

As he casually attempts to stroll in, North is surprised to make physical contact against the couple.

The woman and man fall against the door as North falls backwards.

The man's hat falls nearby where North has fallen.

Rubbing his head, North looks up and is shocked by what he sees.

That man was a fox!

"What the hell do you think you're doin'!? Bumping into me like I'm some schmuck!"

The wolf like woman laughs, and wraps her arms around the man.

Just as she was about to make a smart remark at North, her face fills of terror.

"OH MY GOODNESS! Mr. Claus!"

She pushes the fox out of the way to help lift North up.

"You know me?"

"Of-OFCOURSE! Who doesn't know you!?"

The fox rushes over and helps to clean North up.

"I'm-I'm so so sorry ! I didn't know! I SWEAR!"

Confused, North tries to make sense of the explanation until he is pulled inside the pub.

Music filled the room as numerous animals and Guardians filled the bar. Everybody was appearing to have a good time. To his dismay there were even humans mingling among the Guardians.

From the corner of his eye he catches a man lifting a sprite as he carried her upstairs.

It was clear to him that he was in a brothel.

Clearly embarrassed, North attempts to leave but is stopped by the woman.

"Don't you worry yourself none ! We'll make sure that your suite is ready in no time!"

Within ear shot he hears a woman casually ask for him by name.

"Kris?"

Turning around, he faces a beautiful Minotaur like woman strolling over to him in a barely there sheer gold outfit. Her body would appear human if it weren't for the horns protruding out of her head, and her hind legs being part bovine.

She graciously takes his hand and kisses it. Smiling, she glances over to the wolf with intent to kill.

"How DARE you Noma, not inform me that was here!?"

With a back slap she sends Noma crashing to the floor.

Rubbing her cheek, the wolf tries not to cry.

"I'm..I'm sorry my lady Kama Sutra! Please forgive me!"

Just as she was about to hit the wolf once more, her wrist is grabbed from behind. Shocked she turns around to see North himself taking hold of her.

"That is enough!"

North looks deep into the minotaur's red eyes to show that he was serious..

Smiling she pull she her arm away.

"Very well, . I wouldn't want to disrespect you in your establishment."

His big blue eyes widen.

She brushes her long red hair out of the way, and seductively walks up a stairway.

"Shall I lead you to your suite?"

Once again his curiosity gets the better of him as he uses the opportunity to try and find any type of information he'll need to figure out what was going on.

"Ah yes. My suite."

Smiling, she further goes up the stairs leading North to the second floor.

Reaching into her bra, she reveals a beautiful key.

"Why don't you use this time to freshen up, and I'll go fetch your toy."

North was about to answer, but was distracted by the sight of a little girl in her lime green pajamas playing in the hall way.

Looking in the direction he was staring, Kama snarls.

Pulling herself together, she pushes North back into his room.

"See you in a little bit !"

She closes the door, and locks it.

Putting the key away, she stomps over to where the little blond girl was playing.

Taking notice of the woman heading in her direction, the girl panics and runs in the opposite direction.

"Get back here you little brat!"

The girl runs full speed into a room, closing it behind her.

Scared, she rushes into the other room where a Pooka sat talking alongside a Dingo.

She rushes over to the bed and grabs hold of the Pooka's leg.

Confused, he stops talking to his friend to care for the child.

"What's got yoos spooked butterfly?"

Knowing full well where the girl resided, Kama violently pushes the door open.

Looking up, the trio stares towards the door.

"What the hell Kama!?"

"Don't you speak to me in that tone Pooka! That little brat was in the hallways again! I warned you that if I saw her there one more time I would throw her runt ass out of here!"

The Pooka and Dingo stand in unison.

Staring her straight in the eyes, the Pooka takes a stand.

"I like ta see yoos try."

Staring at both the rabbit and dingo, she stares down at the little girl who was hiding behind the rabbit's leg.

"Fine! But one day you won't be there to protect her and that's when I'll see to it that she's fed to the wolves!"

Reaching into her bra she reveals a key.

"Oh and by the way. Claus is here. I know how much you LOVE his visits."

The Pooka's eyes widen.

"Wh-WHAT!? He's here? NOW!?"

"Yes, and I would suggest you behave this time, if you don't want to be left all bloody and beaten like the last time."

She slams the door leaving the pair alone with the girl.

The Dingo is the first to break the ice.

"Sorry mate. If yoos like, I know the missus is clear of tonight and can watch over the liddle ankle biter."

"Thanks Irwin."

Bending down he picks up the little girl and places her on his lap.

"Now Sophie, how many times have I told yoos not ta play in the hallway?"

The girl doesn't answer, her big beautiful green eyes fill with tears as she sobs into the rabbit's chest.

"Aww butterfly. Don't cry. You know I don't like it when yoos cry."

He gently pulls her away from his chest and looks her in the eye.

"It's because of that mean ugly bull am I right? Don't worry Soph. One day Poppa's gonna get us out of here and then yoos can play in a field of butterflies as long as yoos want with nobody tellin' you no."

Sobbing she picks up her head to meet his.

"Wi-willy?

"Yes, really."

He smiles down at her and gives her a soft peck on her forehead.

"Poppa's gotta work tonight sweetie. Yoos gonna be stayin' with Auntie Frita. You'd like that right?"

The girl protests and flops her head on his chest.

"No."

He laughs, it's not like she really had a choice.

"Come on now. Be a bonzer of a sheila and go with Uncle Irwin. I'll see yoos in the mornin'."

She pulls the rabbit into a hug, and he lovingly returns it.

With a kiss on her tiny forehead, the Pooka passes the girl over to the Dingo.

The Dingo was about to carry her out, but pauses and turns towards the Pooka.

"You be careful cobber. Hate ta keep her longer than necessary cause her Poppa chose to tongue lash at his maker. "

"You know me all too well Irwin. Send me love ta Frita and thank you."

He closes the door and begins to get ready.

North was in awe of the suite. Everything was exquisite. The bed was bigger than a king size. The sheets were made of silk and a beautiful shade of red. The pillows were lined with gold, and full of a lovely design that must have taken days to thread. The room smelled of fresh baked cookies, and by the bed stand was eggnog. Smiling, he walks over and pours himself a glass.

Taking a sip, he can instantly taste the alcohol.

"Whew! That's good!"

Taking another sip, he peers over to the door that has just opened.

His piercing blue eyes bulge.

A rabbit's foot steps in, soon follows the Pooka.

He sadly enters wearing a spiked dog collar, along with a red robe and red thong.

Shyly looking away, his ears are flattened back.

"Hello ."

With no warning an enormous laughter fills the room.

The Pooka's ears perk up. Looking up he sees North pounding the bed with one hand and holding his belly with the other.

"HAHAHA! BUNNY!? WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!?"

Taken aback and embarrassed, Bunny looks down at his attire, and then looks up a bit annoyed.

""What do yoos mean? You picked this out for me."

North couldn't help it. He couldn't stop laughing."

Rolling his eyes, Bunny walks over to the glass and takes a sniff.

"Are yoos rotten?"

"No! It's-It's just you look so silly! HAHAHA!"

He was trying to remain calm, but his Pooka pride was proving to get the best of him.

"Wha-what do yoos mean silly!? I'll have you know that it was you who picked out this absurd outfit so maybe it's you who's bein' silly!"

At that moment he wished he could take it back.

Stepping back, he presses himself up against the door.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean that !"

Wiping a tear, North gets up and pulls himself together.

"Sorry for what?"

Walking over to the rabbit, Bunny tenses as North raises a hand.

"Why are rabbits always so nervous?"

He playfully gives Bunny a pat in the cheek.

The rabbit was stunned by the gentle affection.

North returns to his eggnog.

Suddenly a realization hits North, putting down his glass he turns to face the Pooka.

"How did you get here?"

"Um…I walked over from my bedroom."

"No! How did you get to this world?"

Bunny gives the man a quizzical look.

"Well, my momma met my poppa and then they-"

"What? No! I mean THIS world!"

"I'm sorry . I honestly have nah idea what you're talkin' about."

Pushing for answers he asks a couple of more questions to assess the situation.

"Where are Tooth, Sandy and Jack?"

Finally! Answers he could answer.

"Oh! Tooth's probably residin' in her headquarters by the city. Sandy is buckerin' it up in some cargo area by the river and Jack is rumored ta be living it up underground along with his fellow bandits."

"Why?"

"Uh…No disrespect, but did you hit your head on something? You're the biggest mob boss out here. Tooth works for you, Sandy has been at war with you for the past 5 years after he betrayed you, and Jack has been on the run after stealing from your companies. He runs the biggest bandit mob out there."

Taking a seat, North takes in all this new found information. He didn't simply travel to another place, but he managed to travel to another dimension.

Peering up he makes eye contact with the Pooka.

"And you?"

The question seemed to hurt the rabbit.

"Me? I'm just a lonely Pooka tryin' ta make a livin' for both me and my daughter."

"Your daughter?"

He sadly nods his head.

Pouring another glass of eggnog he signals for the rabbit to sit next to him.

Nervous at first he, he does as he is told.

Taking a seat by the fireplace he removes himself of his prop wear.

Free of his costume, he takes the glass and sips from it.

North could simply tell by looking into Pooka's eyes that this wasn't his Bunny.

His eyes were filled with fear, and his body showed signs of years of abuse.

Looking down at his glass, the rabbit solemnly asks,

"You're really not him are yoos?"

"No."

"I can tell. He's never this nice. Only cruel."

He nearly jumps when North suddenly takes his hand. Shocked he looks up into ice blue eyes.

Reaching over, North brushes back a batch of fur from the bunny's head.

There was a huge scar running from the top of his head down to his cheek.

"I'm sorry."

Wincing his eyes shut, he gently takes North's hand and pulls it away.

"Not your fault."

Silence takes order of the room until North asks the Pooka for a favor.

"Bunny I need your help. I need to find a way to get back to my world."

Pondering for a solution, his ears begin to perk.

"The only person who could help you is the wizard Pitch."

"Pitch!?"

"Yea! I've heard stories that he was so powerful that had banished him. I don't have a clue of where he might be now though. Rumors has it that he resides somewhere by the Enchanted Forest."

"How do I get there?"

"You would talk ta Tooth. She knows everythin' about the city. It's her job to keep tabs of the place while you're away."

"Can you take me to her?"

"I'm sorry mate, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"See, I have an ankle biter of me own."

"You can take her with you."

"No, she's just a bite size. The travel-"

A sound of some type of disturbance right outside catches his attention.

Getting up Bunny rushes towards the door.

He opens it peeking his head outside.

He can clearly hear screeching coming from the lower level and smell smoke.

Looking over the banister, he sees black sand creatures destroying the place and killing whoever they could get their hands on.

"Sandy…"

North rushes out just in time to see the Pooka jump down to the lower level.

Looking back North sees a pair of swords.

Smiling he reaches over and takes hold of them

"Don't mind if I do."

Bunny looks around desperately trying to find a familiar face in the mayhem.

He sees a man slumped over in the ground under a beam, despite all the blood covering his face he knew exactly who that was.

"IRWIN!"

Rushing over he tries to lift the beam, but he was too weak.

"Aster, leave me. Frita…Sophie. They're downstairs."

He stops and solemnly takes his friend's hand.

"Irwin…thanks mate."

He was already gone.

A little girl's scream brings him back to reality.

"Sophie!"

Pushing through all the people he rushes down a flight of stairs.

At the end of the hallway lied Frita motionless, as a monster walks over towards the little girl.

She is screaming to the top of her lungs, with tears streaming down her face.

"SOPHIE!"

He runs at full speed leaping in the direction of the monster.

Slowly turning around, the monster is met with a kick to the face.

Seeing an opportunity, Bunny leaps over and grabs hold of the little girl.

He tucks her tightly in his arms and jumps into a nearby closet.

Closing it, he attempts to calm the little girl.

Sobbing uncontrollably she begins to grab patches of his fur in an attempt to clutch onto him.

"Sophie! Sophie. We're goin' ta play a game! I need yoos to close your eyes and hum Peter Cotton Tail. Can you do that for me? "

Pulling herself together, she can't help the hard sobs that came in between.

She sadly nods her head.

"That's my girl."

Looking around he finds a messenger bag.

"Might come in handy."

After quickly strapping on the bag and not wanting to waste anymore time, he grabs hold of his daughter.

Lifting her up, He holds her tightly as she buries her face in the crook of his neck.

"Ready?"

She gives a soft nod.

"Here we go!"  
He burst through the door and quickly looks around. Two monsters detect his presence and run towards him.

"Crickey!"

He runs back towards the staircase to see North fighting off a couple of the sand demons.

He runs upstairs to help.

"Bunny!

"On it!"

Strategically he places Sophie down and rushes over.

Grabbing hold of a heavy vase, he throws it violently at the creatures head.

The now headless creature collapses turning into a pile of sand.

Running back the Pooka scoops up the girl and runs towards the window.

"Come on!"

He grabs a nearby table cloth and covers the frightened girl with it.

"Bunny what are you doing!?"

"Getting' outta here!"

He runs full speed only turning around in the last second so that his back made contact with the window. It explodes allowing the Pooka to fall through as he gracefully flipped around and land on his feet.

Taking note North follows.

He roughly lands by the Pooka and runs for cover.

The trio hides behind a couple of bushes and stare at the direction in front of them.

North couldn't believe that Sandy was responsible for all of this destruction and mayhem.

"I'll take yoos ta Tooth. If Pitch knows a way to brin' you back to where you came, he might be able to help me after all.

Sophie begins to cry again.

It was only then that North had noticed her.

Before he could ask, Bunny lifts the girl and walks away.

Taking a deep breath, North gets up and follows him.

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	3. Questions

**Questions**

After walking for a while Bunny decides that it was probably best for them to rest.

They set up camp, and exhaustedly sit by the fire.

Bunny flops down and sits by a tree.

He leans back and motions for Sophie to come over.

The little girl climbs and lies on his lap.

Cradling her, he gently brushes her hair aside and clears the left side of her face so that she could resume in using him as a bed.

Soflty rocking her back and forth, the rabbit proceeds to sing to her.

Here comes Peter Cottontail  
Hopping down the bunny trail.  
Hippity hoppin',  
Easter's on its way.  
Bringing every girl and boy  
Baskets full of Easter joy…

In no time the girl was fast asleep.

Still shaken from the earlier events, North awkwardly plays with the fire, only to glance over at Sophie from time to time.

Bunny notices and lovingly pulls her closer to his chest to help keep her warm. He nearly drifts to sleep until North forwardly asks him a question.

"She's your daughter?"

"Hard ta believe right? Nah, I took her in when nah one else would."

"Her parents?"

"Dead. Killed when Claus and his goons came and attacked our town. We didn't stand a chance. Found this liddle one cryin' by her mother. We've been together ever since."

There was another thing that bothered North, but he didn't know exactly how to go about in asking.

"So…why..ugh…"

The Pooka couldn't help but laugh at North's uneasiness. Instead of watching this poor man struggle he helps ease the awkwardness.

"The Brothel? Ha! You're a bloody curious man. I assume you're askin' seeing as if I have a liddle ankle biter of me own. It was easy money, kept a roof over our heads, meals galore, and most importantly the women."

North's eyebrow perks at the last remark, forcing Bunny to further clarify.

"All the women except for Kama loved Sophie, and would take care of her on their down time. Brushin' her hair, painting her nails. You know! Girl stuff! I never had a kid let alone a liddle sheila, so I had nah idea what I was doing. Sophie lived at the Brothel, but she never knew or saw what was going, I made sure of that."

"What about me?"

"You mean Claus?

His domineer quickly changed. His ears flopped back as he pondered over the question.

"He's as bad as they come. There's nah ounce of good in his heart. If yoos ever see him you run the other way! I'm serious mate! He'll kill you without a second thought."

"But you knew him."

"Exactly why I'm tellin' yoos ta stay away!

The conversation was beginning to get heated, which wasn't North's intention. Deterring from Claus, he asks one more question.

"You mentioned something about Pitch helping you."

Bunny situates himself in a better sitting position, to better converse with his ever so curious guest.

"Well I'm hopin' he can help me. See? When I was a liddle kid, I remember me parents tellin' me stories about this beautiful place full of hopes and dreams. It was there that Spring came ta be."

Reaching back he pulls a paper from his bag. He passes it over so that North could see.

Looking over the paper, North traces a finger over the image.

"The Warren."

Even the name warmed the Pooka's heart.

Smiling, he looks down and softly pats Sophie on the head.

"That's the one. I promised I would take her there so that we could live the rest of our days away from this horrid place and finally be safe and happy."

Laughing he cheerfully states;

"She didn't care for all that. All she wanted ta know is whether the butterflies in the picture will be there."

North passes the picture back to the rabbit, who carefully puts it back in his bag.

"Rumor has it that Pitch knows how to get there."

The Pooka's story struck a chord with North. He wanted ever so badly to help the pair in getting as far away from this place as possible.

"Can I ask yoos a question?"

The question came unannounced and took North by surprise.

"Yes."

"How are we in your world?"

He had only been there for a day, but he already desperately missed his friends.

"Believe it or not, we are all very close minus Pitch. Tooth and Sandy are very gentle, kind and loving. You and Jack are good friends, but don't quite see eye to eye from time to time. Bunny is an amazing fellow. He's brave, proud, and caring. He brings hope everywhere he goes."

He now looks down at Sophie and smiles.

"Sophie is very close with Bunny, just like you two. She has family and friends who love and care for her deeply."

Bunny wanted to smile, but it hurt him to know that somewhere out there they were living these amazing lives, and here they are fighting to survive on a daily basis.

"Funny how the cards are dealt am I right?"

North could detect a touch of sadness in his voice,

"Bunny I-"

"It's gettin' late. We have a long day tomorrow."

The Pooka gently rolls over to his side and places the little girl besides him.

He covers her with the table cloth he had stolen earlier and closes his eyes.

Regretting in informing Bunny of the others, he rolls over in the opposite direction to face away from the rabbit. In a matter of minutes they all are fast asleep and ready for whatever tomorrow has in store.

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	4. Trouble

Edit* For some reason the name and use of Mr Clause is vanishing within these chapters of my story. I thought it was an error on my end, but when I rechecked my stories, the name is there. I'm not sure if Claus is a command prompt on , but going forward We are going to go with Kris Kringle so I don't have to force these edits on to your alerts.

**Trouble**

The moon shined bright as clouds peacefully passed by it.

A sound of silver bells could be heard in the distance, getting louder by the passing seconds.

Breaking through the clouds, a herd of malicious rabid reindeers gallop into the night.

A pair of Yetis sits up front, reigns in hand desperately trying to steer the reindeers.

In the back an old man in a black suit sits back and smokes on a cigar.

Puffing away, he pulls the cigar from his mouth when in the distance he sees a fire.

Taking another puff, he motions for the Yetis to land.

They do as they say, and with one strong pull they steer the reindeer in the direction of the fire.

In moments they touch base with the ground.

One of the yetis rushes out to open the door for the man.

Stepping out he glances over to where the Brothel used to be.

Throwing his cigar down, he crushes it with his foot.

"Look around."

The yetis do as they are told and begin to check the area for any survivors.

A hand grasps around his boot.

Looking down, a bloodied wolf like woman stares up to him with pleading eyes.

"He…help me."

Rolling his eyes, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a gun.

Pointing down, he mercilessly shoots the woman in the head.

The yetis return with a woman in tow.

Dazed, she weakly looks up at the man.

Her eyes widen when she notices that it was Kris Kringle himself standing before her.

"Kris…Kris Kringle!"

Smiling he places a finger under her chin.

"Ah Kama. I see you've done wonders to the place."

"No! No it wasn't me! It was Sandy! I did my best to save it!"

Looking around he stares at where the fire ridden Brothel once stood.

"This is your best?"

"You were there! You had to have known that I was outnumbered!"

The remark sparks a bit of anger in him.

"I was what?"

Confused, she begins to further explain herself.

"Weren't you upstairs with Aster when we were attacked?"

He takes a moment and looks over to the pair of Yetis who also appear confused.

He lets out an enormous laugh.

Seeing the laughing as a good sign, she smiles nervously.

Without warning he violently grabs the Minotaur by the neck.

"Do you think for a moment that I would allow Sandy to beat me at my own game if I were here!?"

He throws her to the ground and stands before her lifting a leg to stomp her.

"I SWEAR! I'M NOT LYING! You came looking dishevel. I thought you were tired from all the traveling!"

"So…there is an imposter among us? And where did this 'imposter' go?"

"I saw him run off with the Pooka and his brat heading towards the city!"

"Aster? ASTER went with him?"

She nods her head nervously.

For some reason that appeared to bother him more than the Brothel burning down to the ground.

"Thank you Kama. That's all I need to know. You may go"

Breathing a sigh of relief she gets on her knees and bows.

"Anything for you Kris Kringle! Thank you! THANK YOU!"

She quickly gets up and turns to leave.

Smiling, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the gun.

"No, thank you."

With two shots, she falls to ground as a pool of blood begins to form around her motionless body.

Frowning, he puts the gun away and heads towards the sleigh.

"Come!"

The Yetis run around and quickly prep the reindeer for their departure.

One of the Yetis looks back and mumbles gibberish to the man.

Lighting another cigar, he gives the Yeti a devilish smile.

"To the city. If I know my Pooka well, then I know exactly where they're going."

With the sound of the whip, the reindeers take to the sky.

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	5. The Tooth Will Set You Free

Edit* For some reason the name and use of Mr Clause is vanishing within these chapters of my story. I thought it was an error on my end, but when I rechecked my stories, the name is there. I'm not sure if Claus is a command prompt on , but going forward We are going to go with Kris Kringle so I don't have to force these edits on to your alerts.

**The Tooth Will Set You Free**

The city was a grimy place.

Garbage was strewn all over the place, and rats scurried from side to side.

The stench of rotting garbage filled the air, forcing North to wrinkle his nose.

All of the buildings looked abandoned with several covered in graffiti.

Not taking any chances of the girl prickling herself on something, Bunny chose to carry her the rest of the way.

Walking about there was one building in particular that caught North's eyes.

It was unlike the remaining nearby buildings.

Tall, white and sparkly it stuck out like a sore thumb.

"That's the one mate."

Walking up, North reads a panel of names until he sees a very familiar one.

Pushing the button with little to no concern, he waits.

Looking back he is surprised not to see the rabbit standing by him.

Around the corner, he can see the Pooka peering over.

"Bunny, what are you waiting for? Come!"

"I think I'll take my chances out here mate. It's safer."

Rolling his eyes he walks over and drags the reluctant rabbit over to the door.

Just as he was about to protest, a voice comes from the intercom.

"Whoooooooooo issssss it?"

North was about to reply, when his mouth is suddenly covered by the Pooka's hand.

Bunny lets out a cough and replies,

"Kris Kringle."

There was no answer.

Taking charge North demands an explanation.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh! You reckon she's goin' ta open the door for a North? Who the bloody hell is North?"

With no warning the floor beneath them vanishes.

Screaming, the trio falls through the trap door and into a pit full of super slides.

The fall causes Bunny to lose grasp of Sophie who slides into a pipe of her own.

"Sophie!"

Bunny tries to reach her but he was already enclosed in a pipe of his own and sliding down at a fast rate.

North's wide stature barely makes it through the pipes.

He could easily hear Sophie laughing and screaming happily from the distance.

Sophie was having the time of her life. She had lifted her arms and was laughing uncontrollably.

"Weeeeeeeee!"

Looking ahead North's face saddens for a moment.

"Oh no…loopy loops!"

The pipes intertwine, forcing the trio into a mix of roller coaster type loops.

Bunny was now screaming to the top of his lungs and quickly becoming nauseous.

Suddenly there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Reaching the end, the trio slides down against a sparkly white marble floor.

Still laughing, Sophie raises her hands and screams,

"Again!"

Bunny has flopped over so foolishly where he was lying on his back with his feet dangling by the sides of his face.

"OooOoooh."

Laughing, North sits up and rubs his head.

"Now THAT'S an entrance!"

Sophie runs over to Bunny and playfully fluffs his cheeks.

"Hey! You're not Kris Kringle!"

Turning on the lights, the trio sees a hummingbird like woman sitting at a desk.

"You've got 30 seconds to tell me who you are or I'm calling security!"

Standing up North pulls himself together for the woman.

"I am North, this is Bunny, and his daughter Sophie."

Not impressed she takes a sip of her wine.

"So you're going to start an introduction where you're fraudulently acting as , and you're being followed by a Pooka along with his human daughter."

She uncontrollably laughs, waving over for her baby teeth to enter the room.

"If that isn't the weirdest entourage then I don't know what is! Look, I don't have time for this. I have more important things to do."

Preparing to leave North stops her.

"Please wait!"

"Now why would I want to do that?"

"Bunny here told me that you knew everything about this city. Yes?"

"I'm not one to brag, but yes. He's correct."

"I need to know where Pitch is."

Her smile regresses back to a poker face.

"I'll give it to you. You've got some balls to be coming in here and asking me that question."

Her baby teeth flutter around her happily as if they were emitting her emotions.

"I'm a business woman. You help me and I'll help you."

North desperate nods in agreement.

"Great! I want the girl."

North's eyes widen as Bunny picks up and tightly holds Sophie.

"What?"

"You heard me. I want the girl. A pretty face like hers could go far in this dark and dreary place we live in. And besides she's young. That's a guaranteed good 30 years if you ask me."

Angered by her words, Bunny shouts,

"You're disgustin'! Come on North. We don't need her."

"It's your call tubbers."

Thinking, his face lights up as if a light bulb had just went off.

"Deal."

Taken aback, Bunny looks over to North with a look of betrayal.

"WHAT!?"

Smiling she snaps her fingers.

"Good choice."

Her baby teeth surround Bunny, attempting to pull Sophie away from him.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU!"

Sophie begins to cry over her confusion on exactly what was going on.

More baby teeth show up, violently pulling the girl away from the Pooka.

"SOPHIE!"

The Baby Teeth wrap the rabbit in a strong floss material to keep him at bay.

Facing North he shouts,

"You trader! I knew I shouldn't have trusted-"

Looking back, North's face is full of reassurance when he gently whispers to the Pooka,

"Bunny, it's going to be ok."

The baby teeth walk Sophie over to her new owner, who gently lifts her up and holds her.

"Aww aren't you pretty? You're going to make me soooo much money."

She waves for the Baby Teeth to leave, thanking them for their hard work.

It pained him to do this, but Bunny goes by his better judgment and holds his tongue.

Assuming that it was because of Tooth's colorful feathers and fairy like appearance, the girl went along for the ride with little to no complaints. She would only look back from time to time to assure herself that Bunny was still there.

"I'm a woman of my word so a deals a deal."

Fluttering over to her dashboard, she gently places Sophie down so that she could punch in an assortment of numbers.

A map of their current location appears on the screen.

Seeing as Tooth was too busy punching in the information North had acquired, the man quietly walks over to Bunny.

Using his sword, he cuts several strings of floss to allow Bunny to break free. North points over to a nearby door. Taking note of the exit, Bunny creeps down like a cat and crawls over to Sophie.

The map enlarges, showing locations that were not previously listed.

"Alright, to get to Pitch you want to cross town through Fairy Tale Lane until you hit the river. Once there you're going to need to pass the bridge which isn't going to be easy, because you're going to be in Sandy's territory."

As Bunny cautiously creeps toward Sophie, he reaches over and gives her soft tug. The little girl turns around smiling upon seeing him, as the Pooka signals for her to stay quiet.

North slowly opens the door, allowing the Pooka to sneak off with Sophie.

The man stays behind to hear the last remaining bit of information, before leaving.

"**IF** you get passed that then you'll reach the Enchanted Forest. Find your way through the enchanted forest and your home free. Pitch's lair isn't too far from there. Got all that tubbers?"

With no answer, she turns around.

"Tubbers?"

To her surprise, she was alone. For how long she didn't know.

Laughing to herself she taps herself on the head.

"When are you going to learn Tooth to never turn your back in the middle of a business deal? Oh well. Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way."

Picking up her phone she dials in a number.

She gives her nails a glance over before her attention is brought back to the phone conversation.

"Hello? Kris? It's Tooth. Do I have some news for you."

Running up like a pair of mad men, they make their way for the exit.

Bursting through the glass doors, the pair desperately tries to find a place to hide for the mean time before heading over to Fairy Tale Lane.

Taking a sharp turn into a nearby alley way, the trio kneels down as North peeks his head around to ensure that they weren't being followed.

Bunny gently places Sophie down and playfully tells her,

"Alright Butterfly, I need yoos ta cover your ears, close your eyes, and hum as Poppa hazza word with your Uncle North."

She happily nods and does as she is told.

Breathing a sigh of relief, North laughs as he turns back to face Bunny and Sophie.

"Whew! THAT was close!"  
With no warning North is punched square in the face.

Confused, he rubs his cheek as Bunny rubs his now bruised fist.

"Don't yoos EVER do that again! I might understand what you're doin', but SHE doesn't! You leave her out of this venture or else I'll be the one dragging you back ta myself! You understand!?"

Understanding, North looks away a bit ashamed.

"I'm sorry."

Brushing his ears back, he tries to compose himself.

"Damn it yoos gave me the scare of me life back there!"

"Thank you."

That wasn't the response the Pooka was expecting.

"For what?"

"For trusting me."

A small blush rushes across the rabbit's face.

"Um…well. DON'T do it again."

He scoops up the girl and starts walking in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going?"

"Where do yoos reckon? She said Fairy Tale Lane didn't she?"

A soft smile creeps up on North.

Rubbing his cheek, he happily follows the pair as they make their way over to Fairy Tale Lane.

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	6. Catacombs

**Catacombs**

Word got out fast that Kris was out looking for the trio. Yetis were appearing everywhere and staying out of sight was proving to be difficult.

Hiding behind a pair of bushes, they wait for a Yeti to pass before running for cover in a nearby alleyway.

"At this rate we'll never make it ta Pitch."

The Bunny was right. They have wasted so much time and energy just trying to avert the Yetis.

"There has to be another way."

North ponders, looking around for clues.

Noticing the nearby canal he gets an idea.

"That's it! The Sewers!"

The idea easily disturbed the Pooka.

"Seriously? THAT'S your plan?"

"Yes! They'll never think twice to look for us there."

Unfortunately he was right.

A moan escapes the Pooka, as thoughts of rummaging through the sewers fill his head.

"I've got a bad feeling about this North."

"We have no choice. Come on!"

They run down the hill to reach the creek, as Yetis continue to look around the area for the trio.

They safely make their way down and stop before what appeared to be an abandoned entrance if it weren't for the two lit torches hanging on each end.

Looking in, there was nothing but darkness.

Sophie moans her displeasure as she holds onto the Pooka's leg.

North takes hold of one of the torches and marches on.

"Let's go."

One by one they enter the catacombs of the sewers.

The smell was a lot more bearable then what they previously imagined.

Bunny wouldn't blame Sophie for screaming. The place would make wonders if it were listed as a horror attraction.

Dead rats lied nearby as other rats ate off their bodies.

North pushes on forward and only stops when they enter the next room.

Bunny paying so much attention to Sophie accidently bumps into North.

Pausing he rubs his nose.

"Why'd yoos stop?"

Lifting the torch, North lights up the room revealing the large vast of assortment of skulls that were neatly placed to create the walls.

"Crickey…"

A snowflake appears from nowhere landing directly on North's nose.

"Snow?"

That's when Bunny's eyes shoot wide open.

"North! We gotta get-"

Suddenly, their torch goes out.

All three let out a panicked scream.

Before they could make any sense of what had just happened, another torch is lit.

Looking around they realize that they are surrounded by bandits.

Bunny tries to back away as he screams,

"This is bad!"

With no hesitation, the bandits grab hold of each of them, tie them up and force them to their knees.

Struggling against their binds, they look up to see a young boy in his teens prancing happily above them.

"Well well well…what do we have here? Can it be!? KRIS KRINGLE HIMSELF!?"

Flying down he places a finger under North's chin and lifts his head up so that he could get a good look at his eyes.

"Are you here to tell me that I'm finally off the Naughty list?"

North was growing less happy in seeing all these familiar faces. They've done nothing but cause him trouble.

"You hold record Jack Frost."

A bandit quickly covers the man's mouth with a bandana before he could get another word in.

Bunny intervenes,

"He's not-"

Bandanas are soon placed over the Pooka's and Sophie's mouths.

Jack quickly flies over to the Pooka and screams,

"DON'T INTERUPT ME!"

Grabbing a torch he marches deeper into the catacombs.

"You're very lucky to have found our hideaway, but unfortunately you won't live long enough to tell anybody about it. Boys!"

The bandits lift the trio up and carry them deeper into the catacombs.

Both Bunny and North struggle against their binds, as Sophie tries to spit out her bandana.

They are lifted into a section of the Catacombs where hundreds of children resided.

There were clearly no adults present, besides Bunny and North.

The children gather and cheer as the intruders are pushed up a flight of stairs where three nooses awaited them.

Lined up, the bandits place the nooses around their necks, and lower one just for Sophie.

Wiggling his nose, Bunny finally removes himself of his bandana.

"You can't be serious!? SHE'S JUST A KID!"

Flying over the winter sprite playfully taps the rabbit on the nose.

"Well then she should have thought twice before hanging out with traitors."

North removes himself of his bandana and joins the argument.

"We are not traitors!"

Jack couldn't help but laugh.

Flying up he riles up the crowd.

"You hear that!? Kris Kringle here says he isn't a traitor!"

The children begin to boo and throw garbage at them.

Flying back towards the man and Pooka, he puts his arms around them.

"I'm a nice guy. Let's say I give you a fair trial."

North shrugs his shoulders and innocently replies,

"That is fair."

If Bunny wasn't all tied up, he would have killed North himself right there and then.

"North ya gumby! What is wrong with yoos! ? Just because their kids doesn't mean they won't kill us! I'm startin' ta reckon you like getting yourself into these situations!"

Jack flies up and once again riles up the crowd.

"Alright all you boys and girls! It's that time again! Trial time!"

All the kids cheer as one boy makes his way through the crowd to see what all this commotion was about. He is in a state of shock when he sees the trio lined up for tonight's execution.

"Yay if you want them to live or-"

Pressing a lever a nearby dummy with a noose around its neck drops through the trap door and hangs there.

"Nay if you want them to die!"

North and Bunny gasp at the thought.

"Ready!? 1…2…3!"

In unison all the children scream,

"NAY!"

The decision pained North. Even the children of this world were tainted with hate and bloodlust.

"Well there you have it folks! Looks like we're going to have us a hanging tonight!"

A roar of cheers fills the room as the prisoners are pushed forward so that they now stood in alignment with the tops of their trap doors.

A slow death chant starts as Jack approaches the lever by Sophie.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

Bunny's heart drops.

"NO! STOP!"

North tries will all his might but he's unable to break free from his restraints.

Shrugging his shoulders, Jack nonchalantly replies,

"Better sooner than later."

Bunny screams,

"**Somebody do something**!"

Sophie closes her eyes and waits for the sudden drop.

"STOP!" screams out a boy from the crowd.

Jack is just as surprised as everybody else, when Jamie makes his way through the crowd to face the Bandit leader.

Unimpressed, Jack places a hand on his hip and gives the boy an uncaring stare.

"Now WHY would I want to do that?"

"Because she's my sister. That's why."

North couldn't believe his eyes.

"I thought you said he was dead!"

Bunny doesn't say a word. A look of detest can be read across his face, as he stares down at the boy below.

"He is mate. Dead ta me anyways."

Jack, not quite done with the hanging just yet responds to Jamie,

"Um hello! Kris Kringle and his goons here!"

"That's not Kris."

Shocked Jack flies over and gives North a quizzical look.

"WHAT!? REALLY!? Why didn't they just say so?"

Now it was North's and Bunny's turn to get angry at the snow sprite.

"**WE DID SAY SO!**"

Jack lets out a sigh and rolls his eyes.

"FINE! You're such a Debbie downer Jamie."

Removing them of their ties and nooses, Bunny rushes over and hugs Sophie.

Smiling from ear to ear she proudly announces to the Pooka,

"No cwying!"

"I KNOW! You were SO brave Butterfly!"

"Aster."

His smile instantly disappears.

Turning around he looks down at the boy.

"Jamie. Long time."

"Can we talk?"

"About?"

"Sophie."

"There's nothin' ta talk about mate."

Sophie stares at the boy. She knew she knew him, but she wasn't quite sure from where.

Bunny takes her hand and is about to walk down the flight of stairs.

"HEY! I just saved your life!"

The rabbit laughs.

"Oh! NOW he wants to play the hero role. Well you had your chance! Two years ago!"

Jamie was growing angry over these accusations.

"I WAS A KID! What was I suppose to do!?"

"You were supposed ta be her brother! YOU were her hero and instead yoos sold her and left a two year old liddle girl to face this world alone."

Stepping forward, North's eyes sadly look over to Jamie.

" Why Jamie?"

Jamie ashamed of his past actions looks away.

"Mom had just died, and I couldn't take care of the both of us. A man came asking if Sophie was for sale. Hungry and desperate I told him yes. So I sold for twenty bucks."

"Bloody hell Jamie! I wouldn't have even sold him a dog let alone a liddle sheila! You knew of his intentions and yet yoos turned your back on her! Even when she looked back at you with pleadin' eyes crying you ran off with your new found fortunes. "

He hated that Bunny was really making him come all out with every detail of the transaction.

"If you're so perfect what would you have done!?"

Standing up high on his hind legs, he angrily walks over to Jamie and looks down at him with those intense green eyes of his.

"It's not what I would have done but what I did! A sheila like her would only fetch him 100 bucks tops. I bargained with the man and in exchange for her freedom I gave myself up ta him so that he could flog me instead to Kris Kringle for a whoppin' thousand dollars!"

Whistling, Jack rock back and forth on his new found ledge.

"Whew! That's some money right there! Wouldn't have gone as far as 1000 bucks, more like 400. That's just my opinion. No offence."

Ignoring him, Bunny gently pets the girl's head as he sadly adds,

"He told me what yoos did, and thought I was a few sandwiches short of a picnic for sellin' myself ta save a liddle girl I didn't even know when her very own flesh and blood ran off on her for a measly 20 bucks. Isn't that right?"

"I know what I did was wrong and I can't change that, but I can be there for her now. And that's why I want her to stay here with me."

Grabbing the boy by the cuff of his shirt, he slams him against the wall.

Jack steps forward ready to protect the boy if needed as North rushes forward towards the pair.

Just as he is about to punch the boy, his arm is held back by North.

So much hate and hurt filled his eyes as he stared back at the boy.

"You've got some nerve!"

"She's MY sister! She belongs here with me!"

"NO! You don't get ta play the brother card whenever yoos want! Like I said, you had your chance and you blew it!"

"Oh yea! What makes you think she's better off with you!?"

Dropping the boy, he looks down at him. With a serious tone he replies,

"Her favorite color is pink, she loves butterflies, she is afraid of the dark, and her favorite song is Peter Cotton Tail. Tell me somethin' I don't know and I might even consider your proposition."

The boy remained speechless as Bunny strolls over and takes Sophie's hand.

"That's what I thought. Let's go North."

Looking back Sophie stares at Jamie and looks back at the Pooka with a quizzical look.

"Poppa, who tha?"

"Nobody Sophie. Just a plain old nobody."

North follows Bunny only to stop and look back at Jack and Jamie.

Opening his mouth he is just about to say something but stops himself short.

Shaking his head, he walks out with Bunny and Sophie, leaving Jamie behind with his thoughts along with Winter Sprite.

In homage to The Hunchback of Notre Dame and in respect to the title I had to add this. I think it actually worked with adding Jack and Jamie to the story. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far!

PLEASE REVIEW! :D


	7. Enter the Sandman

**Enter the Sandman**

The walk to the river was both long and grueling.

Sophie had given up a long time ago, forcing the Bunny to carry her for the remainder of the way.

The journey was beginning to wear down the rabbit.

It didn't help that he was also responsible of caring for Sophie at the same time leaving no room for the Pooka to care for himself.

North could easily tell that the Pooka was exhausted.

Stopping, he takes hold of Bunny's arm.

"Give me her. I'll carry her for the rest of the way."

"Nah, it's alright mate. I got her."

Not letting go he coaxes the rabbit in handing over the sleeping child.

Taking a deep breath, he passes the girl over to the man.

"Fine…just make sure ta support her head and if she squirms yoos gotta -"

North couldn't help but laugh at how easily flustered the rabbit was getting with him just holding the little girl.

"Bunny! It's ok! You have to learn to know when to let go."

"Easy for yoos ta say! Wait til you have kids over your own! Then come back and lecture me on how I should be actin'."

"How are you going to be when she grows up and starts dating?"

"Da…datin'! ? Oh nah mate! No dating! Not until she's 21! No…30! Even then they're going ta have to get through me and I bet they never seen a rabbit like me before!"

North laughs along the path as he continues to bother the already flustered Pooka.

It felt as if they were walking endlessly and getting nowhere fast.

North makes the decision to make camp so that they could get some rest before venturing any further.

While making the fire, North would occasionally peek over to stare at the Pooka who was lovingly rocking the girl back and forth as he sang to her 'Peter Cotton Tail."

After several attempts he finally gets the fire going.

Standing up he sits by the rabbit.

Rubbing his hands, he places them by the fire to help warm himself up.

Taking a moment he uses this as an opportunity to further discuss with Bunny about what had happened back at the Catacombs.

"Why did you lie?"

"About?"

"Sophie."

"Come on mate. Bit of strong story ta be tellin' someone yoos just met don't you reckon? Honestly I thought it wasn't any concern of yours at the time that's all."

They've only been together for a short time, but North was finding himself caring more and more for the two.

Fiddling with his fingers he asks,

"Do you trust me?"

The question came off as offensive to the rabbit. Hasn't he already proven numerous times that he did?

"Of course! You reckon I bein' doing this just for the hell of it!?"

Regretting he asked, North pulls away from his questioning.

Ensuring that the girl was asleep, Bunny decides to play along.

"What's really wrong with you? Why are yoos asking me this all of a sudden?"

Embarrassed North clasps his hands together and get's up.

"It's nothing. We should go to sleep."

Walking away he lies by a tree and closes his eyes.

Feeling as though he had missed something, he looks over in North's direction before lying by a rock with Sophie and falling asleep himself.

Sometime that night, the fire had gone out.

The cold wakes North up.

Rubbing his eyes he looks over to notice that Bunny was shivering as he covered the girl with his own body to keep her warm.

Pondering for a moment, he gets up and sits right by the Pooka,

Careful in not waking them, he moves the rabbit over so that he was now resting his head under the man's chin and using his chest as a pillow.

Resting his head back against the rock North closes his eyes as he wraps his arm around the rabbit.

The rabbit slowly flickers his eyes open when he notices the sudden smell of cookies.

Confused, he looks up and is surprised to find himself in the arms of the other man.

Embarrassed, he takes a moment to get his thoughts together.

Without saying a word he smiles and proceeds to bury his face underneath the man's chin.

Peeking down, North smiles as he brushes the rabbit's ears back, placing a soft kiss on the Pooka's forehead.

Deep into the night the trio sleeps soundly underneath the trees.

The moon's light peered through the braches lighting the way for a butterfly making its way through the darkness.

The butterfly lit up with the intensity of a 100 lightning bugs.

Gracefully flying about, it would sparkle bits of sand along the way.

Flying by, it approaches the group landing ever so softly on Sophie's nose.

Tickling her, the girl flutters her eyes open to the surprise of a beautiful butterfly right there in front of her.

Giggling, she attempts to grab it only to have the butterfly flutter away from her grasps.

Flying away in the distance, Sophie is determined in catching it.

Not wanting to wake the Pooka, she carefully wiggles herself free from his grip and takes chase.

Unbeknownst to him, Bunny instinctively pulls North into a hug and buries himself deeper into the crook of the man's neck with the man lovingly returning the hug.

Running through the bushes the girl laughs as she draws closer to the magical butterfly.

Finally out of the forest, she stops when she nearly walks over a pit of sand.

Right in the middle of the pit was a single rose lit up by the moon's light.

The butterfly gently lands on the rose, as it continues to slowly close and open its wings enticing the girl to venture closer.

Sophie has hit one of those crossroads in her young life.

She knew better to know that she shouldn't venture off without her Poppa, but she wanted to catch the butterfly so bad.

Stretching, Bunny reaches down to make sure Sophie was covered and warm.

Patting around, he opens his eyes when he feels nothing.

"Sophie?"

Looking down his eyes widen at the sudden realization the she wasn't there.

"SHIT!"

He pounces off North and in a panic looks around for any signs of the girl.

"NORTH! North wake up!"

North's sleep is suddenly interrupted by all of the rabbit's shouting. He groggily replies,

"Wha…"

"Sophie's gone!"

This instantly wakes up the man, who quickly gets up to help the Pooka in finding her.

"WHAT!? How!?"

"She must've wondered off while we were sleepin'! SOPHIE! SOOOOOOPHIIIIIIEEEE!"

Stopping the rabbit perks up his ears.

Moving them around, he instantly stops them when they pick up the sound of a little girl laughing.

"There!"

He runs full speed leaving North behind.

"Bunny! WAIT!"

Everything was a blur.

By passing an endless sea of trees, he keeps running as the laughter grew louder.

A glow ahead catches his attention.

Picking up the pace he pushes pass a couple of bushes, before approaching to where the little girl might be.

"SOPH-**CRICKEY!**"

He nearly topples over when he unexpectedly stops right by the edge of the sandpit.

Stepping back he looks around to see the river before him was not an actual river but instead a river of sand.

"What the bloody hell?"

Sophie's laughter forces him to look up in her general direction.

There in the middle of the pit was Sophie edging closer towards the butterfly.

Just as she was about to grab the butterfly the Pooka shouts,

"SOPHIE! **STOP!**"

Stopping, she quickly turns and looks over to where the Pooka was standing.

North finally catches up and is just as shocked by the sight in front of him.

"Sandy."

He then looks over to where Bunny was looking; causing the man to gape in horror as the girl stood right there in the middle of Sandy's sandpit.

Laughing she happily points to the butterfly.

"Poppa! Pretty!"

"Yes…isn't she a beaut? Sophie I need yoos ta listen to me sweetheart. I need yoos ta come back over here were we are."

She pouts and proceeds to point at the butterfly as if she was trying to tell him that she wanted it.

"I know Sophie, and if yoos think that one's pretty wait till I show you the ones at the Warren! Those are real beauts, but you can only see those if you're a bonzer of a sheila and come here right now."

Biting her lip, she stares intently back at the butterfly.

"But Poppa-"

The butterfly turns and flutters away into the night sky.

Reaching out he stretches out his arm for her to grab hold of.

"Please."

Disappointed that the butterfly has left, she walks over to the bunny.

Breathing a sigh of relief he smiles.

"That's me girl."

But before she could make it to the other side, the floor begins to shake and crumble before them.

Falling to her knees, the girl finds it difficult to get back up.

The Pooka springs to action and hops over to her and grabs her.

"Gotcha!"

Just as he was about to jump to safety the floor underneath him collapses, dragging the pair into the darkness below.

North attempts to run after them, but instead loses his balance as the floor crumbles under his weight.

Giving weigh, he to falls into the unknown.

It was dark and everything hurt.

North painfully opens his eyes to find them in a room entirely made of sand.

He could hear Sophie crying in the distance.

Moaning, Bunny rolls over and presses a hand to his head.

"Ow."

Sitting up he gasps when he sees Sophie lying on her belly crying uncontrollably.

"Sophie…"

Screaming as tears run down her face, she looks around for her Poppa.

The screaming was ear piercing.

A white mouse in a little green uniform hops down from a stand and walks over to the girl.

Pulling out a small baton, he boops the girl in the nose.

"ENOUGH CHILD!"

This causes her to cry harder.

Just as the mouse was about to hit the girl again, he is instead welcomed by a kick from her father.

"Back off!"

Flying across the room, he flattens against the sandy walls.

Irritated, he kneels down to further investigate the girl's injuries.

A cut ran across her left temple as a bump began to form underneath it.

"Aww Butterfly. Don't cry. It's just a little bump."

Holding her, he cradles her in her arms.

The mouse slides off the wall and down to the floor. Rubbing his head, he angrily gets up and points a sword at the Pooka.

"How dare you! I Perez will not stand for such abuse!"

Pulling out a tiny sword he charges towards the pair.

"Like I said, bug off!"

Motioning his leg for another attack, he is surprised to find that he's unable to move it.

Looking down, he sees a hand made of sand taking hold of his leg.

Gasping, he quickly lets go of Sophie as he is violently flung across the room.

North rushes over to them in attempt to help his friend.

"Bunny!"

Suddenly a cage is formed around North.

Another hand grabs Sophie by the cuff of her neck dropping her into a huge empty hour glass.

The walls split open as a tiny orange figure walks out revealing his identity.

For the first time since being in this world, North wasn't surprised.

Frowing his eyebrows, North angrily growls,

"Sandy."

Walking by, Sandy effortlessly lifts a finger to form another hand.

His hands motion for it to wrap itself around the Pooka's neck and drag him front and center.

Pulling himself together the mouse walks over to where Sandy was standing.

Taking a proud stance he introduces himself.

"I am Perez! I will be Sandy's translator for the remainder of the evening."

His bow seemed out of place, considering the situation.

Tightening his grip, Bunny begins to gasp for air.

North grasps at the bars and shouts,

"Let them go Sandy! It's me you want!"

Turning his attention to the man, his eyes widen. He couldn't believe it. After all these years Kris Kringle was within his grasps.

His shocked looks quickly changes to a look of anger.

"What the hell are you doing here!?"

It was a bit weird having the mouse interpret Sandy's thoughts, but he had to admit that it made it a lot easier to understand him.

"I'm here to see Pitch."

Both the mouse and Sandy give the other a look.

The pair laugh, as North grew even more annoyed.

Wiping a tear, the mouse strolls over to North and points to him with his tiny sword accusingly.

"What business do you have with Pitch?"

"I need his help. I am not from here. I was told that he is the only one who can get me back to my world."

Speaking on his own behalf the mouse asks,

"You honestly think we're supposed to believe that!?"

Unimpressed Sandy crosses his arms.

The mouse resumes his translating duties.

"Sandy says that you better start explaining yourselves or things are about to go from bad to worst real quick."

"Like I said my business is with Pitch. I have no quarrels with you."

Smiling Sandy wiggles his hand in the direction of Sophie.

Sand begins to trickle into the hourglass, pouring over the girl as it seeped down to her level.

The mouse claps his hand and excitedly explains,

"You better hurry up before time runs out for you and your friends!"

"I'm telling the truth!"

Sandy removes the cage and holds North up by the neck.

Little images appear above too fast for the mouse to translate.

"He doesn't like being toyed with especially by you."

Taking his fist he pounds it menacingly at his hand.

"If it's a death wish you want it's a wish he'll happily grant!

Gasping for air, North retorts,

"You…want me? Come… and get me!"

Letting go of the hand grasping around his neck he reaches down and pulls out his sword.

Swinging it around he cuts the hand off and drops to the floor.

"Show me what you got Sandy!"

Forming a line of sand spikes, he flings it in North's general direction.

Seeing an opportunity, Bunny kicks up and elbow strikes the sand hand causing it to decimate.

Landing down, he runs across the walls dodging Sandy' attacks.

Pounding the glass, Sophie looks over to the Pooka for help.

"Poppa!"

"Hold on Butterfly! Poppa's coming!"

Reaching down he picks up a sand spike, and swings it like a bat directly towards the hour glass.

Before the spike could make contact, a sand hand takes hold of his torso flinging him across the room.

North strategically slashes at everything Sandy throws at him.

Snarling, Sandy raises his hands to form a huge ball of sand.

Striking down, the sand flattens and stretches with the intent to crush his nemesis.

Jumping up just in time to avert the attack North runs up towards Sandy.

"SANDY!"

Slashing forward his sword is welcomed by a wall of sand.

Meanwhile Sophie was trying her best by stepping up on the sand as it accumulated below her. She was inching closer to the top and with no room for her to escape she'll surely be killed.

Bunny bounces off the wall and races towards Sandy.

"NORTH!"

Nodding North throws his sword at Bunny who catches it gracefully.

Leaping forward he takes a stab at slashing down the Sandman himself, only to be greeted by a sea of sand.

Pinning the Pooka down to the ground, the sand begins to cover his body inch by inch.

Taking a gulp of air, his face is soon caked with sand.

Smiling, Sandy quickly turns around as North nearly strikes him down with his sword.

He was so close.

Sandy pauses as he feels something drip down his face.

Pressing a hand over his cheek, he is shocked to see blood covering it.

Striking up, North stares in awe as Sandy grabs hold of the sword by his bare hand.

The mouse hides behind the hourglass as he announces,

"Ohhhh you got him angry! You don't want to see him when he gets angry!"

An explosion of sand rips through the room creating a tidal wave effect.

The hourglass topples over, shattering as it makes contact with the floor.

The sand washes over the Pooka freeing him of its hold.

Coughing madly, he gasps for air that his lungs so desperately needed.

North stands his ground as Sandy sits a top of his massive sand wave waiting to strike down North and his team.

He makes eye contact with North who is holding on to the side of his ribs due to an injury he sustained from the previous attack.

Bunny rushes over and cradles the girl, wiping the sand off her face.

"Butterfly! You alright?"

She weakly looks up and moans.

Pressing his lips against her forehead, he soon realizes the problem.

"Aww Sophie…you have a fever."

Peering over North is pleased to see that both Bunny and Sophie were alright.

Not wanting to see them in any further danger, North steps up an makes Sandy a proposition.

"Sandy! You want a fight I'll give you one, but to be fair they're nothing but distractions. You and me! One on one! Right now!"

The idea intrigued him enough to consider it.

"He says that before you go and start a war you better know exactly what you're fighting for!"

"I do! It's for them!"

Throwing his sword he grasps the handle by one hand and flings it directly at Sandy.

The attack was enough for Sandy to agree.

He easily moves out of the way before raising the sand beneath Bunny and Sophie.

Not entirely comprehending on what was happening, Bunny shouts over to North,

"What are yoos doin'! ? You'll be killed!"

He doesn't look the rabbit in the eye. He simply replies.

"Take care of Sophie. I'll be there soon."

Sandy shoots up the pair back towards the surface.

"NORTH!"

It was just them now.

Raising a hand North waves for the Sandman to come over.

"Let's dance!"

An army of spikes peer behind Sandy.

Smiling he nods his head.

The spikes rain down on the man as he dodges each one.

Running by he picks up the sword Sandy had discarded earlier.

Turning around he throws the sword again in Sandy's general direction.

His sand easily swats the sword to the side.

Looking down North witnessed the sand reabsorbing itself in order to protect Sandy.

"What if…"

The sand attacks came none stop. Running at full speed, North continues to dodge and block each and every attack. With all eyes focused on North he runs back to where Sandy had discarded one of his swords earlier.

Standing right by it North shouts,

"Hey Sandy! Catch!"

Throwing his other sword, Sandy reabsorbs the sand in order to block the attack.

The sword ricochets off the wall of sand and drops to the ground.

The mouse gasps.

North watches intently at the sight above him.

With a look of shock Sandy glances down to see a sword going right through his heart.

He had accidently absorbed the discarded sword into the sand he attended to use to block North's attack with.

Floating down, all of his creations begin to collapse around them.

The mouse rushes over to Sandy's side.

"Sandy!"

It pained North to do it, but he had no choice.

Walking over he looks down to give his 'friend' a solemn look.

"Sandy…"

With a weak smile he motions for the mouse to translate.

The mouse was now in near tears as he attempts to translate Sandy's dying words with composure.

"He…sniffle…he says that he hasn't fought that way in years. It was good to have gone out this way. Thankfully it wasn't under Kris Kringle's hand. I wouldn't want to have given him that pleasure of watching me die. I knew the moment I saw you that you weren't him. There is a light in your eyes. Something we all lost a long time ago."

He winces clutching onto his chest. Despite being near death's door he continues.

"To get to Pitch, you're going to have to go through the Enchanted Forest. Only those with a heart of Gold can reach Pitch's lair. You'll know if you're headed in the right direction when you've find a small cabin resting on a hill top. That cabin used to be Pitch's and Kris' home. Very few people know this but they're brothers. When Kris began to hunger for power, Pitch appointed me as Guardian of this entryway. My job was to keep Kris at bay, preventing anybody planning to use Pitch's power for evil from getting through. After you reach the cabin, Pitch's lair isn't too far off, about a day's worth of travel."

In disbelief North slams his fist against a nearby wall.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!?"

He smiles warmly at North.

"I had to make sure. I couldn't chance it. It's my job as a Guardian after all to protect and maintain the balance of this world. Good luck North…and goodbye."

His eyes shut as a glow begins to cover his motionless body.

The mouse steps away as Sandy's body dissolves into specks of gold.

Gathering together, they swirl around before shooting towards the sky.

Alone, the mouse removes his hat and sadly looks down with tears in his eyes.

"Bye Sandy."

Picking up his sword, North looks back at the mouse.

"Come, you travel with us now."

"What? Really?"

"Yes. Any friend of Sandy's is a friend of mine."

Perking his little ears he runs after North as they make their way back up to the surface.

WHEW! What a chapter! Hope you guys are enjoying it as much as I am! Please review! Love to know your thoughts. Thanks guys!


	8. No Time Like The Present

**WARNING! RATED M!** This is a heavy North/Bunny Chapter. STRONG SLASH meaning M/M shipping. Don't like then I have no idea why you're here considering I warned you about it all the way in Chapter 1. We're nearing the end guys! Enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW! Would love to know your thoughts! NO FLAMERS ALLOWED!

**No Time Like The Present**

Bunny anxiously sat as he cradled the fever ridden girl.

Brushing her hair to the side, he desperately tries to keep her warm with his body.

"Hold on Sophie, North will be here soon."

A rumbling beneath them forces the Pooka to stand up.

Right then and there, the sand began to crumble.

Peering over the edge, he sighs in relief upon seeing North climbing up the ridge.

"North!"

With one last push, North lifts himself from the pit and lands tiredly on the ground.

"That was a lot harder than I thought."

Getting up he brushes himself off and makes eye contact with the Pooka and sheepishly smiles.

Smiling back the Pooka walks over and gives the man a punch on the shoulder.

"Don't yoos EVER do that again! Had me worried sick!"

"Sorry."

Looking down, the Pooka grimaces when he sees the little mouse standing by North.

"What's he doin' here?"

Bowing the mouse reintroduces himself.

"Perez at your service! North said I could tag along."

Flattening his ears, he turns over to North for an explanation.

"What!?"

Scared that this time the rabbit would actually follow through with his death threats he raises his hands to protect himself from the Pooka.

"Long story, but Sandy was on our side all this time. As a favor I thought it was best if Perez joined us for the remainder of the trip."

The Pooka once more looks down and rolls his eyes as the mouse excitedly waved back at him.

Staring down, North realizes that something isn't quite right with Sophie.

"What's wrong?"

How could have he been so careless? Bunny holds the girl tightly as he tries to regain control of the situation.

"Sophie's sick! We need ta get her to some sort of shelter soon!"

The mouse steps up to the challenge. Saluting, he takes a proud stance while addressing the Pooka.

"I can help! I know my way through the Enchanted Forest and before you know it we'll be at Pitch's cabin!"

North looks into Bunny's eyes giving a nod back as a sign of approval.

"Alright Perez! Lead the way!"

Tipping his hat he runs up onto North's shoulder and begins to give him directions.

"Alright! You're going to start by going straight. After rounding the corner we're going to reach a pair of boulders. That's when you're going to make a left. I'll tell you the rest when we get there."

Focused and determined as ever North does as he's told in insuring that they make it to the cabin before nightfall.

Minutes felt like hours.

The sun had set awhile ago and they were still walking through the forest.

The mouse continued to spew out directions which North followed with no question.

Stopping the Pooka flops down exhausted.

"North…wait."

Stopping, he turns to face the Pooka.

"What's wrong?"

"Sophie's gettin' worst. She needs medicine."

The mouse runs down North's shoulder and looks around.

"This is the Enchanted Forest. Best place to be if you're look for herbs. Be back!"

Rushing into the darkness, the mouse vanishes.

Bunny looked helpless, for the first time he didn't know what to do to help ease the girl's pain.

Placing a hand on Bunny's shoulder he signals for him to pass the girl over.

"Rest. I'll watch over until Perez returns with the herbs."

"I can't sleep. Not when she needs me."

Too exhausted to argue the Pooka lies on North's lap as the man cradles the girl.

With Bunny fast asleep and Sophie sleeping through her fever, North's mind begins to drift back to a conversation he had with the Bunny of his world.

Standing by the balcony, North allows the wind to press up against his body. He was in deep thought and could care less of the weather.

The door opens behind him as the Pooka peers through the door.

"North?"

He wasn't ready to face him not now anyway.

"What is it Bunny?"

"Are yoos nuts? Come inside! It's bloody cold out here!"

"I'm ok."

The Pooka rolls his eyes in regards to the comment.

"Please!"

Taking a deep breath he turns around and marches inside despite his better judgment.

Closing the door, he walks over to pour himself a glass of eggnog.

"What is it?"

Brushing his ears back, Bunny decides to press on the issue they were currently facing.

"Why are yoos mad?"

He thought it was a stupid question considering that Bunny knew exactly why.

"I don't have time for this."

Getting up to leave, the Pooka blocks his way with his body.

"Is this because of us? Look North. I told you. Whatever this is, it's not meant ta last and I don't want to hurt you."

Walking around he takes another sip from his cup.

"Too late."

"Come on mate! Let's be serious! You're Christmas, and I'm Easter. It's weird enough! As Guardians our job is our priority not a romp here and there."

"I've been Guardian long enough to know the rules."

"Then why are yoos mad at me?"

"I made the mistake of thinking that there was more to us. That's all."

"See? There yoos bloody go again! Puttin' the blame on me! That's exactly why we can't be together! Tension! Once we start bumping heads that's when the problems start!"

"Oh Bunny! All you think about is the negative! You put no time in imagining the positives. THAT is exactly why we could never be."

Giving up, Bunny walks towards the exit.

"I can't do this. I'm sorry it had to come to this, but I'm done. Merry Christmas North."

Bunny slams the door behind him, as North sadly takes a seat by his snow globes.

Looking over at one of his unfinished globes, he angrily lifts one and slams it across the room allowing it to shatter against the wall.

Walking out, he leaves the globe behind for the water to seep through the wooden floor.

A sound of a twig breaking, forces North to look out into the woods.

Careful to not wake the pair, he reaches down for his sword in case they were found by one of Kris' Yetis.

Rustling through the bushes the mouse appears with a small handful of herbs.

"Found some!"

Smiling, the man shrugs for Bunny to wake up.

Rubbing his eyes the Pooka smiles when he sees the mouse with herbs in hand.

"Ah Perez! I'd kiss yoos if it weren't you bein' a mouse and all."

"Oh! While looking for herbs I had a chance to check out the layout. We're not too far from the cabin! Probably about 15 minutes away!"

That was some great news. The idea of finally sleeping in a comfy bed and showering brought moral back to its all time high. Especially to know they'll be able to give the girl the medicine she so desperately needed.

Taking the girl back from North, he lovingly whispers to her,

"You hear that Soph? We're almost there. You'll be feelin' better in nah time! "

Getting up they follow the mouse as he leads the way.

Just as he promised they approach a small cabin on top of the hills.

It was a sight for sore eyes.

Running down from North's shoulder, the mouse runs ahead towards the cabin.

"Come on guys!"

They pick up the pace still leaving enough room for the mouse to find the key hidden underneath a flower pot.

North bends down and takes hold of the key.

Approaching the door, he places the key in the keyhole and gives it a twist.

The door unlocks and pushes itself open.

Reaching around, North finds the light switch flicking it on.

The lights turn on revealing the homey cootage.

North was expecting something less attractive seeing that both Pitch and Kris haven't been around for years.

"Wow. Impressive."

Perez takes pride in his work.

"Thank you! Both Sandy and I used to keep tabs on the place just in case Pitch ever decided to return. Make yourselves at home!"

Gently placing the girl on the couch, Bunny starts to work on getting her medicine together.

North walks over and starts setting up the fireplace, while Perez runs upstairs to fix whatever he needed before everybody settled in for the night.

After all was said and done, the place was finally suitable for their short stay.

Pouring the tea into a glass, Bunny sits by the girl and lifts her head.

Taking a sip to insure its temperature, he carefully places the cup by her lips.

"Alright Sophie, time for your medicine."

She weakly opens her mouth as he pours some into it.

Scrunching her face she spits some of it out.

Wiping her clean, Bunny tries again.

"Come on now. Don't yoos want ta grow wings like a butterfly?"

The idea of her growing her very own set of wings had her drinking the medicine in no time.

He hated lying to her, but he had no choice.

"That's me girl. Rest. Guess where we're going tomorrow?"

Taking a few minutes to think it over her eyes widen and a smile reaches her from cheek to cheek.

"The Wowwen?"

He laughs and excitedly replies,

"Yes, The Warren. Now get ta sleep. Before yoos know it you'll be runnin' in a field of butterflies."

Leaning down he places a kiss on her forehead, before carrying her upstairs to her room.

"I'm goin' ta put Sophie to bed and take a shower. I'll see yoos two upstairs."

The man and mouse give the Pooka a quick wave goodbye.

Sipping from his tea, North pondered as he stared down at his cup.

The mouse seeing that something is up, checks up on North.

"What's the matter sir?"

His eyes were a bit glossy from holding back his tears.

"Tomorrow we see Pitch and I go home."

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes, but things are a bit different now."

"How so?"

No matter what he said it wasn't going to change the fact that he had to go back.

Defeated he calls it a night.

"Goodnight Perez."

"Goodnight sir!"

Stopping short from going upstairs, he has one last request for the mouse.

"Perez?"

"Yes sir?"

"Can you stay with Sophie tonight? I need to talk with Bunny."

"Yes sir! Whatever you say sir!"

After taking a long needed hot shower, North strolls into his room in just his pants.

Upon hearing Bunny closing the door leading to Sophie's room, he quickly puts on his signature red sweater.

A knock at the door, startles the man.

"Ye…yes?"

Opening it, Bunny looks into the room waiting by the door as if he was waiting to be let in.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Ah yes. Um…take a seat."

Stretching, Bunny lets out a tired sigh.

"I really thought she was goin' ta be asleep after I took a shower. Turns out she got a bit fussy so I lied by her until she fell asleep. Perez is in there cuddling with her right now. She reckons he's an animated toy of some sort. He tells me that he's going to need to get her some more medicine tomorrow. I should go considering-"

His ongoing rambling was just proving to North how nervous the rabbit was being in the room alone with him.

Taking his hand, North lifts it and places a soft kiss upon it.

Closing his eyes Bunny presses his lips together to help keep his composure.

Lifting his left hand North lovingly begins to caress the Pooka's cheek with this thumb.

"Bunny…I need to know how you feel about me."

Melting to the touch Bunny swallows hard before replying to North's question.

"I think it's quite obvious. Don't you think?"

His emerald green eyes meet with ice blue ones.

"I want to hear you say it. I don't want there to be any confusion between us."

Bunny lifts his paw and takes North's hand into his, and places a soft kiss directly into his palm.

"I care about you North. More than you know."

Attentively staring at the rabbit, he brushes his ears back, before pulling the Pooka into a kiss.

Soft and shy at first, North presses forward by pushing his tongue past the Pooka's lips allowing him to venture further into his mouth.

Placing an arm around the Pooka's torso and another behind his head, North gently pushes the rabbit down onto the bed.

Lying on top, North pulls away from the kiss to place his face in the crook of the Pooka's neck.

The Pooka smelled of spring flowers and bit like fresh linen.

Placing a gentle kiss on his cheek, North whispers,

"You ok?"

The rabbit replied with a nervous nod.

"Let me know if you want me stop."

"Um, yeah. You got it mate."

Tracing his tongue over the Pooka's collar bone, he brings it back up towards the side of his neck.

A shiver runs down the rabbit's body as North uses his hand to fondle his chest area.

Bunny had no idea what do, but to lie there and take it.

North places a soft kiss on his neck before he begins to gently suckle on it.

Bunny's breathing picks up as he stifles a moan.

Sitting up, North looks down at the Pooka who nervously returned the loving stare.

Massaging his chest, North takes notice of where the Pooka was most sensitive.

The man leans down to lay soft kisses across Bunny's chest only stopping to place one directly above the Pooka's fast beating heart.

It was becoming clear to him that Bunny was actually more scared and he wanted to make sure that he had enjoyed this just as much as he did.

Leaning forward he caresses Bunny's cheek as he gives him a look of reassurance.

"It's ok Bunny."

It's as if that was all he needed to hear to know that it really was going to be ok.

It was his turn to place a hand against the man's soft rosy cheeks.

"North…"

The man doesn't let him finish. He pulls him into another kiss.

Pulling away, he removes his signature red sweater, discarding it sloppily on the floor.

Crushing the bunny under his weight, he pulls the Pooka into a passionate kiss.

Bunny pulls away to gather some air.

Dazed, he looks directly into North's ice blue colored eyes.

He's never felt this way for anybody before.

"I…I think I've fallen hard for yoos mate."

A small laughter escapes the man.

"I would hope so if we're going to do this."

Brushing the fur back North is reminded of Bunny's vicious past as his fingers trace over the scar leading from Bunny's cheek to the top of his head.

Looking away ashamed, Bunny reaches up and gently pulls the man's hand away.

"Like I told yoos when I first met you. Not your fault."

"I know, but I want to make it right."

He places a gentle kiss above the scar.

"I want to show you what love truly is."

"You…you don't have ta do that."

"Please?"

Swallowing hard, the Pooka's bottom lip begins to tremble.

"O-ok."

Smiling, North presses his lips against his lover's quivering ones.

The man removes himself of his last articles of clothing.

Lighting a candle, he turns off the lights and returns to the Pooka who had remained on the bed anxiously waiting for his return.

Returning, North takes Bunny's paw.

"Come."

North sits on the edge of the bed as he positions Bunny to sit on his lap while facing him.

With his arms wrapped around North's neck Bunny lovingly rests his head against North's forehead.

"I wanted ta thank you."

"For?"

"For what yoos did for me and Sophie back there. Riskin' your life ta save ours."

"It's no big deal."

"It was for me."

Taking a deep breath, North lifts his head up so that his lips could make contact with the rabbit's

Reaching down, North's hand brushes gently against Bunny's shaft.

He hisses and moans suggesting for North to continue.

With a soft grip, the man gently begins to massage the semi erect member.

Pulling from the kiss, Bunny buries his face in the crook of North's neck.

His body was trembling whenever North's fingers would pass the tip.

Soft bucks from the rabbit would instinctively happen from time to time suggesting that the rabbit was both willing and ready.

North wasn't going to end it that easily; he wanted this to last as long as possible.

Moans filled North's ears as the rabbit tried his best not to be loud.

His hand moist from the Pooka's pre cum, he tightens his grip around the erect member swirling his thumb around the tip.

"Ugh!"

North kept at it until the Pooka pulls away from his grasps.

"Wa-wai-wait!"

Confused, North allows Bunny to step off and stand in front of him.

"I can't let yoos have all the fun mate."

Getting on his knees he signals for North to part his legs.

If he was anything like Kris then the Pooka knew exactly how to push his buttons in all the right ways.

Just as he was about to start, North places a hand to keep the Pooka at bay.

With a look of concern North asks,

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Moving the hand away, Bunny initiates the foreplay by licking the sides of North's very erect member.

Biting his bottom lip, North lifts his head back as he entangles his fingers into the Pooka's fur.

Pursing his lips, he hungrily suckles the sides of North's erect member starting from the bottom and slowly reaching the tip.

Once there, he uses his tongue to trace circles around the tip, flicking at it from time to time.

"Nnng!"

Now it was North's turn to stifle his own moans.

"Bunny…"

Not saying a word, Bunny opens his mouth and engulfs the member all the way down in just one try.

Lost in the moment, North accidently pushes down on the Pooka's head, pushing his member deeper into his throat.

Bunny didn't mind. This was quite gentle compared to what Kris used to put him through.

His tongue strategically plays with the painfully erect member as he begins to bop his head up and down in a very fluid motion.

Curling his toes North begins to huff and puff to make sure he didn't finish before they even started.

"B-Bunny."

Pulling away, Bunny stares up at the man.

"Come here."

He leads the Pooka back onto the bed, where he positions him on his back.

Placing himself in between the rabbit's shaky legs North sucks on two of his fingers before lowering them towards Bunny's entrance.

"Relax Bunny."

Pressing his fingers into him, Bunny arches his back up as he painfully bites his bottom lip.

"N-North!"

He keeps the rhythm gentle as he pushed his fingers in and out of the rabbit.

Breathing heavily, Bunny tightly closes his eyes using all of his concentration to not go right there and then.

Adding another finger, Bunny lets out a painful moan.

Tears start to form and gather by the corner of his eyes.

"Bunny...Bunny."

Looking up he makes eye contact with the man who lowers himself to kiss the Pooka.

Pulling away, North positions himself for entry.

"I love you."

Gasping, Bunny lies there in a state of shock. Nobody has ever said that to me in that way.

Born in such a dark and dreary land, love had come to be a thing from the past and he had accepted the idea that that was a feeling he would never experience in his life.

North gently pushes himself into the Pooka who arches upwards to help ease the pain.

Finally in, North breathes a sigh of relief before finding a rhythm appropriate for the pair.

Bunny was tightly holding onto the sheets as North thrusted into him.

Bunny was a bit bothered that the bed was making a squeaky sound with each thrust. He didn't want to give Perez and especially Sophie any idea of what they were up to.

"North…were bein' too noisy."

Panting, North pauses to think of a solution.

Without breaking contact he lifts the rabbit up and presses the Pooka's back against the wall.

"Better?"

"Works for me."

Smiling, North gives the Pooka a nice big thrust to remind him of what they were doing prior to the small disturbance.

Bunny's eyes resume their lust fill glare as North pushes himself into him.

His hips jolt upwards when North finally hits the spot.

"NNnng! UGH!"

"There?"

Wrapping his arms tightly around the man's neck, he presses his face into the crook of the man's neck before giving him small nod.

Repositioning himself, he begins to thrust harder and faster into the lust filled Pooka.

Tightly shutting his eyes, Bunny moans hard into North's ear as his hips tremble upon him cumming on North's belly.

The sudden feeling of warmth coating his belly, brings him over the edge.

With the last couple of thrust, he lets out a loud muffled grunt as he spills his seed deep inside the Pooka.

Nearly collapsing he holds on to the rabbit real tight.

The pair maintains their positions as they breathe heavily against each other.

Bunny unwraps his legs from North's torso and steps down.

North lifts the Pooka's head with both of his hands and lovingly whispers,

"You are amazing."

Sheepishly smiling he jokingly replies,

"I know."

Just as North was about to pull him into another kiss, a soft cry can be heard in the distance.

"Po..Poppa!"

The feeling was mutual when their expressions changes to 'Not now!'.

"Um…I better wash up and go check on her."

There was no point in pleading for the Pooka to stay. North already knew that that would be a losing battle when it came to the little's girl well being and he didn't blame him at all.

"Yeah."

Walking over to leave he stops to look back at the man who was already beginning to get dress.

"Goodnight North."

"Goodnight Bunny."

After lying on his bed, he could hear Bunny chatting it up with the little girl and Perez.

Tomorrow they finally make their way to see Pitch and he was no longer sure on how he felt about it

Sighing, he covers himself with his blanket before thinking about what tomorrow will bring them.

OK GUYS! I REALLY hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will be a doozy so I will be starting ASAP! PLEASE review and let me know what you think of it so far. Thanks to all who have been reviewing and supporting!


	9. Goodbyes Are Always Hard

**WARNING! This is going to be a VERY dark chapter! It will consist of M/M rape and graphic violence. Don't like then don't read! OR don't read the part in between the WARNING! **

**If you see the first WARNING! START! Scroll down until you see WARNING! END! To avoid the rape scene.**

**Ok…you guys ready?**

**Goodbyes Are Always Hard**

The suns light beams through waking the man from his sleep. The smell of fresh made waffles and coffee fills his nose.

Casually strolling down, North is happy to see Bunny, Sophie and Perez sitting over a nice hot meal.

Bunny quickly makes eye contact with North and smiles.

"Mornin' North."

The mouse drags over another cup to pour some coffee for the added guest.

"Good morning sir! I hope you slept well."

"I did Perez thank you."

Taking a seat, he stares over to Bunny who was holding a groggy and very cranky Sophie.

"Now now Soph. You got ta eat."

She protests slapping the spoon away and crying.

"Aww Butterfly."

Turning her around he softly bounces her to help soothe her.

Taking a bite of his waffle, North gives the girl a concern look.

"How is she?"

"Still sick. I was hopin' the batch of herbs we got last night would help but she's going ta need more."

Perez steps forward saluting the pair.

"I can get more if you like sir."

"I'll go with you mate. With me bag I can bring a hell of a lot more back."

Wiping his lips, North stands up and goes for a spare jacket hanging by the door.

"No. I will go."

"But North-"

"It's ok. She needs you. I will go with Perez and use the opportunity to try and find an easier way to get to Pitch's lair. Come Perez."

He knew there was no use in arguing.

Holding the girl he accepts his fate.

"Alright, but yoos be careful now."

He shyly walks over and gives the other man a hug.

North lovingly hugs him back.

Pulling away he gives the Pooka a loving smile.

"I will."

Looking down, North softly caresses Sophie's cheek.

"Be good Sophie. I promise to bring you back a flower from the forest."

Rubbing her eyes she weakly presses her face against the Pooka's chest.

"Get out of here. I'm goin' ta head up and put her ta bed."

Bidding their farewells, North and Perez make their way back to the forest.

Stopping, North turns around to give the cabin one last look.

Perez quickly takes notice.

"What's wrong sir?"

"Nothing. I thought I felt something in my belly."

North reluctantly faces back toward the forest and goes about his way.

Some time had passed since North and Perez had left.

Bunny sat anxiously by Sophie's bed waiting for the pair to return with the girl's medicine.

Falling in and out of sleep, he nearly falls off the bed when he hears a knock at the door.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he makes his way downstairs.

"That was fast!"

Opening the door he happily says,

"I thought it would take yoos guys at least an hour-"

He freezes.

"Kris…"

Leaning by the door in his black jacket with a smug look on his face as his two Yetis stood right behind him, he turns to face the distraught Pooka.

"Aster. Aren't you going to welcome me in?"

Before the Pooka could react, the man angrily throws his cigar to the ground and rushes forward grasping the rabbit by the neck.

He violently slams the Pooka against the wall, causing for everything hanging off it to crash to the floor.

"UGH!"

Lifting him up off the ground, Bunny holds onto the man's grasp as he desperately tried to breathe.

"I see you're doing well."

Dropping him down, Bunny clutches onto his neck and gasps for air.

"Where is he?"

"Where…is who?"

Shaking his head, he removes his jacket.

"Aww Aster. Why do you make me do things to you? Hmm?"

Picking up some speed he violently kicks the Pooka in the stomach.

"AH!"

Crumbling to the floor, Bunny wraps an arm around his torso.

"I-I don't know what you're talkin' about!"

Grabbing another cigar he casually lights it up.

"Tisk Tisk. Not the answer I wanted to hear."

Snapping his fingers, his Yetis turn on the rabbit.

They take their turns punching and kicking the Pooka.

A kick lands directly across his face.

Blood begins to seep down his nose as the taste of blood filled his mouth.

Snapping his fingers the pair stops, leaving a bloody and beaten Pooka lying on the ground.

Coughing, Bunny weakly attempts to get up.

Bending down, Kris lifts the rabbit's chin to stare directly into his eyes.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. .he?

Bunny doesn't say a word; instead he spits a mouth full of blood directly in the man's face.

Pressing his lips together, he wipes the blood off with his hand.

Clasping his hands together, he violently grabs the Pooka by the neck.

"UGH!"

Stomping over to the dining table, he viciously slams everything off the table with his free hand.

Body slamming the rabbit onto the table, he continues to crush the Pooka's neck with his bare hands.

"Fine! If you won't tell me-"

"Poppa?"

The Pooka's eyes widen to the sound of the little girl's voice.

Kris loosens his grip when he sees the little girl just standing there watching.

Looking down at Bunny, he smiles.

"What do we have here?"

Tears fill his eyes as he tries to keep his composure for the little girl's sake.

"Soph-Sophie darlin'. I need yoos to go upstairs right now. Poppa will be there in a minute to read yoos a bedtime story. Ok?

"Hold him."

He sharply turns his head to look directly at the man.

"Kris…KRIS DON'T!"

The Yetis grab the Pooka by the ears and hold him down as Kris approaches the girl.

She was speechless.

She stared up at the man in awe.

Smiling he kneels down and places a finger under her chin.

"Hello Sophie."

"Hi."

"Aww aren't you adorable? Is that your Poppa?"

The Yeti's were holding the rabbit by his wrists as he hung there helplessly.

Tears were now streaming down in his eyes, even though a bruise was already forming around his right eye.

She nervously nods.

"Do you love him?"

She nods.

"LEAVE HER ALONE! She has NOTHIN' ta do with this! **SHE'S SICK**!"

"How much?"

She stretches her arms as wide as she can.

"How sweet. You like games? How about we play a game?"

Bunny wanted to throw up right there and then.

"I'm beggin' you. **Don't** do this!"

"OK…I need you to turn around and close your eyes and count to ten."

Not sure on what to do she looks over to her Pooka.

There was so much fear and pain in his eyes.

"Sophie…"

"Ready?"

Turning around she closes her eyes.

Turning back to Aster he pulls a gun from his pocket.

"If you don't tell me where he is by the time she counts to ten, she dies."

"Wh-WHAT!?"

The little girl begins.

Cocking his gun he lowers it to point directly at Sophie's head.

"One."

The Pooka desperately tries to pull free from the Yetis grip.

"Kris…I already told yoos! I DON'T KNOW!"

He pays no attention; he puts all of his focus towards the girl.

"Two."

"Do whatever the hell yoos want with me! I swear I won't fight back!"

"Three."

"Kris for fuck sakes! TALK TO ME!"

"Four."

"I don't know what yoos want me ta say!"

"Five."

"**FINE!** FINE! I'LL TALK!"

Even with that Kris didn't stop.

"Six."

"What're doin'? I SAID I WOULD TALK!"

"Seven."

"Kris?"

"Eight."

"KRIS!?"

"Nine."

"**FOR CHRIST SAKES SHE JUST A LITTLE GIRL!**"

"Te-"

"HE WENT OUT WITH A MOUSE TO THE ENCHANTED FOREST AND IS HEADED TOWARDS PITCH'S LAIR!"

The gun goes off.

Tightly holding his eyes shut to not see the carnage, he slowly opens them to see Kris holding the smoking gun as the girl stood there with a hole by the floor where she was standing.

Breathing a sigh of relief he cries uncontrollably.

"You…**YOU SICK BASTARD**!"

The Yetis let him go as he tries to crawl to Sophie.

Taking hold of her he sobs into her long blonde locks.

He accidently gets some blood on her hair and clothes.

The girl pulls away and carefully touches the Pooka's swollen eye.

"Poppa? Owie?"

Sobbing, he takes the little girl's hand and places a soft kiss on it.

"Yes Butterfly. Owie."

Tired of all this mushiness, Kris walks over and yanks the Pooka by the ears.

"POPPA!"

The girl begins to cry and scream as the rabbit is so harshly pinned to the table.

"We're not done yet Aster. Don't think I haven't notice."

Bunny was trying to fight back, but was easily outnumbered.

"I can smell him on you. You've slept with him haven't you?"

Struggling, Kris grabs the rabbit's chin and forces him to look at him.

"HAVEN'T YOU!?"

With no response, he slaps the Pooka across the face.

"You SLUT! Is that what you want!? TO BE A SLUT!?"

The Yetis hold the rabbit down against the table as Kris places down his cigar and removes his sweater.

"FINE! Then I'll treat you like one."

Using his hands to pin down the rabbit, he presses himself against the Pooka's beaten body.

"UGH! KRIS! NO! GET OFF ME!"

The girl runs forward and grabs Kris by the leg and desperately tries to pull him off.

"STOP! You're hurting Poppa!"

Paying no mind, he whispers into the rabbit's ear,

"How about we do it right here so that your daughter can see how much of a slut her daddy really is?"

It pained his heart to know that there was nothing he could do. He was absolutely helpless. And even as Sophie stood there crying, there was nothing he could do.

Tears continued to flow as he lied there in the mercy of Kris Kringle.

Laughing, Kris gives the Pooka a kiss before pulling away.

"Earl! Carl! Take the girl upstairs. I'll call you when I'm done here."

They nod and walk over to the girl who refuses to let go of Kris' leg.

His voice shaky, Bunny gently tells the girl to go along with the Yetis.

"Go on Butterfly. I'll…I'll be there in a minute."

She nods before giving Kris a nervous glance.

Deep down he was happy to know that Sophie was not able to hear or see what was about to happen.

**WARNING! START!**

Removing his undershirt, he begins to unbuckle his pants.

"Don't worry Aster. It'll be like old times. Yes?"

He didn't answer. He lied there in a numb state as the now naked man lied on top of him.

Thoughts of North filled his head as Kris began to viciously suckle on his neck.

"If you do anything foolish, I promise you that they'll kill her with little to no remorse. Understood?"

Chocking back sobs he nods.

"Good."

Sitting up, he places both of his hands around the rabbit's neck. Tightening his grip, he smiles when the Pooka struggles to breathe.

Blood slowly seeps down from the corner of the Pooka's mouth. His body begins to tremble as it hungers for air.

Bunny's eyes grow bloodshot red as they begin to slowly roll up.

Pulling away at the last possible moment, Bunny lets out a loud gasp dropping his arms to the side.

Stepping aside, Kris lowers himself down to Bunny's member.

Bunny does nothing as the man begins to sloppily suck him off.

"AH!"

"Tell me Aster. Did he make you cum?"

There was nothing pleasurable about it. It was to purposely hurt the Pooka in one of his most sensitive spots.

He stops to lift the rabbit off the table.

He forces him on his knees pressing his hard erection up against the Pooka's bruised cheek.

He hesitates at first before Kris gives his fur a hard yank.

Opening his mouth, Kris places himself deep inside it.

Grasping the back of Bunny's head, he pushes himself deep until he could feel the back of the rabbit's throat.

Bunny begins to gag, pulling away desperately gasping for air.

A hard tug brings him back.

Forcing himself once more inside the Pooka's mouth, he takes pleasure in seeing Bunny struggle with the size and girth of his erection.

Moaning, he thrusts himself in an out of the hot moist mouth.

Thrusting harder and deeper, Kris moans as he could feel himself drawing near.

He tightly grabs hold of Bunny's head and begins to thrust harder into the Pooka's mouth.

"Uh! AHHHH!"

He spills himself, drabbling a bit on the corner of the rabbit's mouth.

The Pooka was about to throw up until Kris lifts his head with his hand.

"Don't."

He does as he is instructed and swallows.

Wiping a bit off his chin, Kris mockingly states.

"This look is very suiting for you. Don't you think?"

Surprisingly ready for another round he gets up and once again forces Bunny to get back on the table.

Spreading the Pooka's legs, he places his lips against the Pooka's entrance.

He teasingly places his tongue in and out of the Pooka prepping him for entry.

Bunny moans loudly. It really did help ease the pain.

Standing up, Kris positions himself for entry.

But before he did that he reaches down and violently turns the rabbit's head in his direction.

"When you cum I want it to be MY name you scream. Got it?"

Scared to death he agrees to Kris' terms.

Grabbing the Pooka he flips him over so that he was now lying on his belly as his lower half hung off the table in a doggy style type position.

Pushing his face into the table, Kris places himself right by his entrance.

Facing the doorway, Bunny quietly prayed that North would come at any minute and save the day.

Today wasn't going to be that day.

Kris viciously pushes himself into Bunny who lets out a painful scream.

There was nothing loving about this.

Kris wanted to hurt him and hurt him bad.

The thrust were violent and painful.

There was no way for him to stifle his moans of pain.

Tears gathered in a small puddle on the table.

Kris loved every minute of this. Just seeing the Pooka in pain made him hard.

Picking up the pace he drives himself harder into the already broken Pooka.

"OH ASTER!"  
"K-KRIS!"

The Pooka spills all over the table as the man spills himself selfishly into the rabbit.

Smiling, he devilishly pulls himself out leaving the Pooka to helplessly sob on the table.

**WARNING! END!**

Getting dressed he puts on his pants and buckles his belt before calling for Earl and Carl to bring down the girl.

In pain Bunny drops to the floor and cries.

The Yetis come down with the girl who is happy to see her Poppa.

Running over she wraps her arms around his neck and smiles.

Wincing to the touch, Bunny attempts to return the affection.

Putting on his jacket, Kris takes a puff of his cigar before walking over to Bunny.

"You did good Bunny. Now get out of here before I change my mind."

Nervously looking around, The Pooka quickly grabs hold of the girl before making his way out the door.

Just as he is about to leave, Kris stops him to say one more thing.

"Oh , and Aster? Thank you."

The Bunny says nothing. He opens the door and leaves.

Keeping his eye on the Pooka as he makes his way towards the Enchanted Forest, Kris takes a long hard puff from his cigar.

"Earl? Carl? Have I ever kept my word?"

The Yeti pair gives each other a look before replying in gibberish.

"That's right. Never."

Smiling, Kris lifts his gun in the direction of the Pooka and the little girl.

"Dasvidaniya Aster."

Perez scurries about and squeaks when he finds another herb.

"Here's one sir!"

Ignoring the mouse, North happily sees a beautiful bluish pink flower.

"Aww! Sophie will love this one!"

North bends down pulling the flower from the ground before the sound of a gunshot echoes throughout the forest.

Confused he looks in the direction of where the sound came from.

In the distance he could clearly see smoke forming in the same direction as to where the cabin should be.

He painfully whispers,

"Oh no…"

He runs back towards the cabin as fast as his feet could carry him.

The fire reflects against his joy filled eyes as he absorbs the carnage before him.

Turning away from the cabin he heads back to his sleigh.

"Ready or not here I come North."

Taking a puff from his cigar, Kris signals for the Yetis to leave. Making their way for the skies, a portal soon appears absorbing Kris and his sleigh.

North pushes through the trees and stops when he finally reaches the cabin.

Perez not too far behind gasps when he finally sees the cabin fully engulfed in flames.

Panicking North runs up the hill and screams out to his friends.

"**BUNNY! SOPHIEE!**"

Looking down Perez notices a blood trail leading towards the woods.

"SIR! Look!"

Running over he notices the blood and his heart sinks.

Looking back up he runs following the blood trail towards it source.

The little girl marched on, desperately pulling at the Pooka's hand.

"Poppa! Come on!"

Exhausted, the Pooka held onto the side of his chest even as a large amount of blood seeped through his fingers.

After a few couple of steps he stops.

"I gotta…I gotta rest Sophie."

She didn't want to stop. She wanted to get as far away as possible.

"No!"

"I'm sorry sweetie. I can't…"

He lies down despite her protest.

Sick and tired she cries when the Pooka fails to get up.

Looking into her eyes he gently brushes her hair away.

"Aww Butterfly…don't cry. You know I don't like it when yoos cry …"

Huffing and puffing, North pushes past several bushes before finding himself in the presence of Bunny and Sophie.

"**BUNNY!**"

Looking up, the Bunny couldn't help but tear up at the sight of his friend.

"North…"

Removing his jacket he tries his best to stop the bleeding.

The Pooka's hand takes his and stops him.

"It's too late mate."

"No! It's never too late!"

"Stop…you're scarin' Sophie."

Covering his eyes North begins to cry into his hands.

"I'm…I'M SO SORRY!"

"Not your fault mate. Listen, I need yoos ta do me a favor."

"ANYTHING!"

"I need yoos…ta make sure …yoos get Sophie ta The Warren. Promise me."

Taking the Pooka's hand he places a kiss on it.

"I promise!"

Smiling, he waves the little girl over.

"Sophie darlin'. I'm so sorry. Looks like I won't be going with yoos ta The Warren after all."

She didn't quite understand.

"Why?"

He weakly smiles. Her innocence was too precious. Even in times of turmoil she would remind him of the innocence in the world.

"Poppa's tired. I want yoos ta know that I'll always be there. You might not see me, but as long as you believe in me I'll be there."

Placing a loving hand on her cheek he whispers,

"Let's…let's sing a song. OK?"

Even as tears were streaming down her face she nods in agreement.

Smiling he says to the girl,

"That's me girl. Ready?"

She nods.

"Here comes Peter Cottontail…Hopping down the bunny trail…Hippity hoppin'…Easter's…Easter's on its…way."

Slumping down, his hand slowly drops from the girl's cheek landing lifeless by his body.

Covering his eyes North begins to sob as Perez sadly removes his hat.

The girl crawls over and gives the Pooka a soft nudge.

"Poppa?"

Not responding, she grows frustrated.

"Poppa!? **POPPA!**"

Perez couldn't take it anymore. Grabbing the girl's hand he sadly tells her,

"He's gone Sophie."

Confused, she looks up to North for answers.

He didn't know what to say, but he knew what he had to do.

"We're not leaving him here. We need to give him a proper farewell."

Perez agreed.

North kneels down to lift up the lifeless rabbit, as Perez focused his attention on Sophie.

They make their way back towards the hill top where the cabin was.

With the sun setting, North had dug a deep enough hole to place the Pooka in.

Climbing up he gently lifts the rabbit's lifeless body, kneeling down to allow Sophie to place one last kiss on the Pooka's forehead.

Turning away from the group North presses his forehead against the Pooka's face as he cries.

"Oh Bunny…Bunny! How could I allow this to happen?"

Looking down it appeared as if The Pooka was sleeping and at any moment he would wake up, greeting them with both hugs and kisses.

"Goodbyes are always hard my friend, but this is not a goodbye. It's until we meet again."

He places a loving kiss against the Pooka's head before placing him down in his eternal resting place.

Staring down, North couldn't part from the gravesite.

It was until Perez tugged on his pants.

"Sir, we really need to get to Pitch soon. Sophie still isn't feeling well and Kris is hot on our trail."

Nodding, North takes a deep breath before leaving.

Heading down the hill he lifts the girl up as Perez takes a spot on his shoulder.

The moon shines brightly as a bluish pink flower lies solemnly on top of Bunny's grave.

PLEASE REVIEW!

I can't even begin to tell you how hard it was for me to write this! I was crying like a baby as I typed away. I wasn't sure if I should have gone in this direction but every time I thought back I said this was the ONLY way for me to go. I'm STILL crying as I type this. I personally grew to love each character individually and to write one off was EXTREMELY difficult. Sorry to rant to you guys, but my family doens't know I write fanfics so I had to express my feelings to somebody! If my calculation serves me correctly then the next chapter is the last! PLEASE REVIEW! I see so many people reading but no reviews! THANKS GUYS! And I'm so sorry! HUGS ALL AROUND!


	10. Moment of Truth

**Moment of Truth**

The area was unlike anything North had encountered while venturing this dimension.

The fog was thick and there was absolutely no sound. It was quiet…too quiet.

At this point it didn't matter to him.

He was still at a lost and hurting badly after Bunny's death. It felt weird not having him there chiming in every couple of minutes.

Let alone it was beginning to take its toll on Sophie.

Perez had naturally bonded with Sophie even if they started off on the wrong foot. North had assumed it was because she would understand better than anybody on how it felt to lose a love one so suddenly.

The walk was cruel enough and to add insult to injury Sophie would be reminded of the Pooka's absence every so often and begin crying out for him.

To hear her call out for her Poppa broke North's heart.

How exactly do you go about in explaining to a little girl that her father wasn't coming back?

Bunny was everything to her and without him she was lost, confused, and scared.

Perez was too afraid to say anything on the matter.

He had just met them, and felt that he might say something out of context that would further worsen their situation.

With Sophie's crying, Perez's awkwardness, and Bunny's absence; North snaps.

Dropping to his knees he screams to the top of his lungs;

"**AHHHHHHHHH!**"

Tears stream down his face as he begins to violently pound the floor.

Startled, Sophie remains quiet. For the first time she was scared of North.

He continues to scream and pound the floor.

"**UGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!**"

Perez lets go of Sophie's hand as he rushes up to North's side.

"Please sir. We need to maintain our composure, if not for us then for Sophie's sake."

Sitting up, North presses the palm of his hands to place pressure against his tear filled eyes.

"I've failed him…I've failed her! Because of me Bunny is dead! How could I have let this happen!?"

Reluctant at first, Perez decides that it was best to tell him.

"Not true sir. Bunny told me himself the first night we spent at the cabin."

Parting from his hands, North dazedly looks down at the mouse for an explanation.

"What?"

The door creeks open as the Pooka steps in to grab the crying girl.

Perez sits by the edge staring curiously as the Pooka lovingly nourishes the girl with affection.

"Shh…it's ok Sophie. I'm here."

Reaching over he grabs hold of her medicine and gives her some despite her complaints.

Placing her head on his shoulder, he gently rocks her while humming to the tune of Peter Cotton Tail.

"She's really lucky to have you."

Looking down, Bunny smiles at the mouse.

"Thanks mate."

Perez appeared uneasy. He felt out of place in this well established group.

"How long have you and North been friends?"

"Not long at all. Funny, at times it feels like I've known him longer."

"He's nice."

"Yeah, he really is. There's somethin' really special about him."

"Do you care about him?"

The question was unexpected forcing the Pooka to cough as a blush rushed across his face.

"Wh-what? Ugh..he's a-"

"I see how you stare at him."

The Pooka admits defeat.

"Is it that obvious?"

Perez nods.

"Sigh…I do. I really do."

"Are you going to miss him when he leaves?"

"Terribly."

"So why don't you tell him."

"North's got family and mates back where he's from. I'm just grateful that I had an opportunity ta meet and be with him when I did."

"How so?"

"He reminded me on how it felt ta have hopes and dreams. Next to Sophie, he's probably the best thin' that happened in me life."

"Do you love him?"

Taking a moment to ponder over the question, he smiles.

"Yeah, I guess yoos could say that."

With Sophie finally asleep, the Pooka places her in her bed and tucks her in.

Softly caressing her cheek, he intently stares down at her.

"Perez?"

"Yes?"

"I need to ask a favor of you."

"Ok."

"Thin's are about ta go from bad to worst real soon. If something should happen to me, I need yoos to promise me that you'll watch over Sophie. Make sure she gets to The Warren. She'll be safe there."

Perez was flattered that the Bunny would leave him in charge of something so precious to him despite the fact that they had just met. It proved to him that Bunny truly trusted him and that he really had a place in this group.

"I promise."

The mouse hops down and makes his way towards the door.

"Oh and Bunny?"

The Pooka curiously turns around to face the mouse.

"Yes?"

"Please don't make me have to keep your promise."

The Pooka smiles.

"I'll try me best not ta mate."

Mouse places a hand on North's knee.

"You were the best thing that happened to them."

He was speechless.

"Now we have a promise to keep and we can only do that if we get to Pitch."

Perez was right.

Pulling himself together, North gets up.

Turning around, he gently picks up the girl and gives her a hug.

"Let's go see Pitch and get you to The Warren!"

Smiling she gives the man a loving hug.

Perez runs up and takes his place on North's shoulder.

"Ready sir?"

Giving a sharp nod, North looks towards the distance.

"Ready!"

"Ok! We need to keep going in this direction. We should reach Pitch's lair in the next 15 to 20 minutes."

"Alright! Everybody hold on!"

North waits for the pair to grab hold of him.

Stomping his foot, he starts to run at his full speed potential.

After some time, North felt that he was never going to see past the fog.

It was as if he was stuck in this moment and no matter how fast he ran he would remain in this moment for all time.

Squinting, Perez cheerfully taps on North's head.

"THERE! There it is! Pitch's lair!"

He could see it. Two large blue doors planted right in the middle of the fog.

Picking up the pace he is happy to finally be approaching the destination he has long but fought for.

Slowing down, he takes his place in front of the doors as Perez thoroughly inspects the area.

"Now what?"

"Rumor has it that only a person with a heart of gold could open these doors."

Looking over to Perez, North approaches the door and attempts to open it.

"NNNNNNNGGGG!"

Holding his breath, Perez watches intently waiting for the doors to fly open.

Pulling with all his might, North loses his grip and proceeds to fall backwards.

Shocked, Perez runs over to North.

Rubbing his head, North looks up at the doors flabbergasted.

"I don't get it! Why aren't they opening?"

"I-I don't know! I was sure that you would be able to open it!"

Confused, he gets up and tries again.

"NNNNNNGGGGGGGGG! COME ON!"

Nothing.

Placing his forehead against the door, he angrily slams his fist against the blue metal entrance.

"BLAST! We're so close!"

Scratching his head, Perez tries to figure out why the door wasn't opening.

"But Sandy said-"

Suddenly the little girl lets out a shriek.

Turning around, Perez in a panic gasps.

"North!"

Quick to turn around North's eyes widen.

It was him.

Standing there among his Yetis, he teasingly holds Sophie by her neck.

Smiling he points his gun directly at the girl's head.

"That the doors could only open if you had a heart of gold."

North could already feel his blood boil.

His body began to tremble in anticipation to hurt him. It took all his might to not kill him right then and there.

"Kris…Kringle."

Kris turns his attention over to the man of the hour.

"Finally we get the pleasure to meet. I have to say North, you're a difficult man to find. Thankfully Aster was more than willing to help me."

Upon hearing Bunny's name he freezes.

"Bunny?"

"Yes, loyal to the very end."

"**LIAR!**"

With North rushing forward, Kris lifts his gun to face directly at the fuming man.

"Uh uh uh! Did you forget little Sophie here? Take one more step and I kill her."

Stopping, he looks over to Sophie.

Tears streamed down her face as her eyes filled with fear.

Scared and desperate she begins to cry out for her father.

"POPPA! **POOPPPPAAAAAA!**"

"Hush up! Your Poppa's not coming!"

Looking over to North he adds with a devilish grin,

"I should know. I was the one who shot him."

Gapping his mouth open North couldn't hold back the tears.

"You…you…**YOU MONSTER**!"

Perez attempts to stop his friend from blindly attacking a man of Kris' caliber.

"NORTH! Don't!"

Pulling out his swords, he runs at the man full force and with intent to kill.

Smiling, Kris throws the girl over to the Yetis as he pulls out his guns.

"I'll kill you just like I killed him!"

Dodging North's attack, he quickly turns around and fires.

Blocking the bullet with his sword, he rushes Kris with a slash attack.

Kris easily steps aside and elbows North across the face.

Falling on his back North composes himself fast enough to dodge a shot taken at him.

Rolling back he gets to his feet, and tries his chance at striking down Kris.

Perez takes note that the Yetis were too busy paying attention to the fight that they fail to notice his presence.

Running up, he walks across the Yeti's arm and bites the hand holding onto the girl.

The Yeti lets out a scream before dropping Sophie.

Landing by the mouse, Perez screams over to her,

"This way Sophie!"

She gets up and follows the mouse towards the door.

Upon reaching the blue doors Perez gives it another look through.

"Sandy never said North would be the one who could open the door which leaves me to believe in one thing."

With the Yetis close behind, Perez shouts out a command to the girl.

"Open the doors Sophie!"

Looking back she nervously stares at the Yetis as they run towards them.

"OPEN IT NOW!"

Turning back around, she pushes at the doors.

Upon her touch they light up.

For a moment Kris and North stop fighting as they watch the doors open revealing Pitch's lair.

Kris could only stare in awe.

"Pitch…I've finally found you."

North uses the opportunity to punch Kris square in the face.

Falling back and stunned, he gets up and sees North running towards the doors along with Perez and Sophie.

"Follow them!"

Taking the lead North steps in and stops.

The entranceway was enormous.

Everything was white and surrounded by mirrors.

Straight ahead was three entrances leading into a carnival like mirror maze.

With no time to waste Perez pain stakingly asks,

"What do we do North!?"

"Take Sophie. I will distract them!"

Taking her hand he rushes the girl over to the left side entrance of the maze.

"Come on Sophie!"

Turning around, North sees Kris and his Yetis quickly approaching.

Waving his arms he screams,

"Come on Kris! Catch me if you can!"

He runs towards the middle of the maze leaving the man and his goons to decide on what to do.

Growling, Kris angrily commands,

"Split up! I will take the middle. North is mine!"

The Yetis nod, and enter through the remaining entrances.

Scared, Perez rushes the girl through the maze.

It didn't help that with every corner you would see your reflection, nearly screaming thinking that it was either Kris or one of his goons.

Taking another turn Perez gasps.

"Dead end!"

Turning around he stops when he sees one of the Yetis standing before him.

"Oh no!"

Meanwhile, North was running every which way hoping to distract Kris long enough for Perez and Sophie to escape.

Making a right, he freezes.

There was nothing but mirrors.

He chose wrong.

"What do I do?"

He could hear Kris cursing in the distance, frustrated as he filled the sky with a series of curse words.

"Think! Think! Think!"

He stops.

Looking back at the mirrors, he slowly steps closer to look upon his reflection.

Staring deep into his eyes, he understands.

"Those weren't the doors."

Reaching forward his hand melts into the mirror as it lit up upon his touch.

Stepping back, Perez pulls out his sword ready to fight back if needed.

"I'd stay back if I were you!"

Panicked, Sophie presses herself up against the mirror.

With her touch it lights up and takes on a liquid state.

Falling backwards and frightened, she reaches forward grabbing Perez dragging him in as well.

The light surrounding the mirror fades as the pair fall in; returning it to its solid state leaving the Yeti alone and confused as to what happened.

Just as North was about to step in he is grabbed from behind.

"NOT so fast North! I'm not done with you yet!"

Landing brutally against the floor, North lies there stunned.

Looking up his eyes widened as Kris stands above him with his gun pointed directly at him.

"I grow tired of this escapade."

Cocking the gun he aims.

"Dasvid-"

Before he could finish his sentence North hops to his feet and grabs the man's hand to point the gun towards the ceiling.

Firing off his round, Kris stumbles backwards towards the mirror as North keeps a hold of him as he charges forward.

North reaches out, lighting the mirror up with his touch and turning it into a liquid form.

Both men fall through as they harshly tumble their way into a tunnel only to land roughly into an unknown room.

The landing nearly knocked out North, who managed to hit his head against the hard white marble floor.

Perez and Sophie were already there waiting, but were surprised to see Kris among North.

Kris sits up grasping at his pounding head.

Looking over he gasps when he sees his gun laying out and about free for anybody to grab.

Perez notices and starts to run towards the gun.

Kris gets up and also runs for it.

Leaping forward he reaches out just in time before the mouse could make it.

Grabbing it he smiles as he sees the mouse still running in his general direction.

Jumping up, Perez takes hold of Kris' hand and chomps down.

Screaming, Kris maintains a tight grip on the gun before violently swatting the mouse away.

Hurt, Perez slides on the floor and lands by Sophie's feet.

Looking down, she stares absorbedly at her injured friend.

Images of Bunny fill her head as she remembered the Pooka lying in a similar position before he died.

Tears begin to form in her eyes as she angrily charges at Kris.

Pounding at his leg she shouts.

"NO! "

Kris looks down and viciously grabs the little girl by the neck.

Lifting her off the ground, Kris once again points his gun at North.

"So close yet so far. Your journey ends her North. There will be no happy ending, just pain and tears."

North stands up and slowly strolls over to Kris.

"You're wrong."

"Explain."

"No matter what world I'm in I will always and forever be a Guardian."

"Ha! Guardian!? The only known existing Guardian was Sandy and looking as how his rat brought you here it's safe to assume that he is no longer with us."

"True, but he reminded me of something very important before he died."

"Really? And what's that?

We a new look of determination; North solely looks Kris straight in the eyes.

"That it is my sole purpose as a Guardian to protect and maintain the balance of this world."

Stunned, Kris lets out an enormous laughter.

"Haha! Is that what you honestly believe? Look around North! This isn't your world! It's mine!"

Pressing the gun against the girl's head he further indulges in his new found power.

"As long as I'm in this world, darkness will prevail."

Pointing his gun back at North, Kris smiles,

"Before I kill you I wanted to leave you with one last thought. He cried out for you as I shot him."

Clenching his fist, North tightly closes his eyes as images of Bunny's life cruelly ending under this man's hands fill his head.

Sophie cried as she watched North just stand there.

Making eye contact with the girl, she notices a tiny twinkle in his eye.

"Dasvidaniya North."

Cocking the gun he aims.

Closing his eyes North lowers his head and simply stands there.

Weakly lifting his head, Perez painfully pushes himself up as he screamed out to his friend,

"NORTH!"

He fires.

Kris' smile quickly turns to a frown.

Upon opening his eyes and making eye contact with the floor North is confused as to why he was still alive.

Looking up, his eyes widened.

Lying there, Perez couldn't believe what he was seeing.

In a state of shock, Kris loosens his grip around the girl's neck.

Sophie pulls away from the man and runs back towards North.

North welcomes the girl with a hug, as he lifts her up and holds her tightly.

Kris takes the initiative and reprehensibly says,

"Pitch…"

Standing before him, was a tall lean statuette of a man that beamed of good and pureness.

Unlike North's Pitch, this Pitch was pure white.

Standing there Pitch lowered his hand discarding the bullet.

Regaining his self-control Kris points the gun at Pitch.

"Ah! If it isn't my loving brother."

Cocking the gun the man hastily takes aim.

"With you finally out of the way I can finally rid this world of any light that encompasses it and earn myself the true title of Nightmare King!"

He fires.

To his surprise Pitch doesn't even make an effort to move and takes the bullet straight to the chest.

Kris stares in amazement.

"Wha-how!?"

The bullet simply rolls off and falls to the floor.

"Your powers are meaningless here Kris."

Growling, he continues to shoot at Pitch until he finally runs out of bullets.

Aggravated he throws the gun to the side and charges at the man.

Lifting his fist he attempts to land a punch, only to find himself frozen in mid air.

Pitch casually strolls over to the man, who was struggling against the invisible binds that held him in place.

Pitch analyzes him for a moment.

"You've made a huge mistake in coming here Kris. See? Out there you might reign, but in here I am God."

The man gasps as he is placed in an invisible choke hold.

Floating over, Pitch waves his hands to reveal an endless pit of darkness.

"Nightmare King you say?"

Kris desperately fights back as his brother motions for him to float right above the pit.

"P-Pitch! Don't! I'm your brother!"

This time it was Kris whose eyes filled with fear and terror.

Pitch doesn't react. He simply lifts his hand up.

"Pitch?"

"Long live the King."

"**PITCH!**"

He lets go.

"**NOOOOOOOOOO!"**

The man drops into the unknown screaming the whole way down.

Closing the pit, Pitch turns around to acknowledge the trio.

North steps forward with his sword out, ready for anything should Pitch plan to consign them with a similar fate.

Looking over towards the group, he smiles.

"No need to worry. You have proven yourselves worthy of your stay here at my palace."

Breathing a sigh of relief North lowers his sword. In honesty he was exhausted and was no match to fight Pitch even if he were forced to.

North couldn't believe it. They made it. They actually made it.

Floating over, Pitch gives the impression of being kindhearted as he tenderly stares down at them.

"Very few people ever make it this far yet you managed and were still able to pass my tests. I'm quite impressed. Whatever your reason may be for visiting me today, it must really be important."

Stepping forward, North answers back with a very stern look on his face.

"It is."

Pitch was impressed by North's strong determination and positions himself to stand directly in front of the man.

"So North, what exactly is it that you wish of me?"

This was it. His moment of truth.

PLEASE REVIEW!

WHEW! Next chapter is the last! Please let me know what you guys think! I hope you guys are going through a rollercoaster of emotions. It'll tell me that I'm doing something right!


	11. Welcome Home

**Welcome Home**

"So North, what exactly is it that you wish of me?"

North takes a moment to look back at Sophie and Perez who were standing there nervously.

"I was told that you could help me get back to my world."

North was asking a lot from him. To break and connect dimensions was no easy task.

"I can."

Dropping his head, North begins to chuckle. That's all he wanted to hear. He really was going home.

"Is that all?"

Shooting his head back up, he nearly forgets to mention one of the most important reasons for their visit.

"No, there's something else."

He turns around, waving for Sophie to come over.

Hesitant at first, she cautiously walks over to North taking his hand.

"I promised her father that I would get her to The Warren."

Intrigued Pitch looks over towards the little girl.

"Hello Sophie, I've been waiting for you for some time now."

Confused, North looks up at Pitch.

"How did you-"

Kneeling down, Pitch lovingly brushes the girl's hair away from her face.

"Would you like to go there now?"

Her eyes widen with joy, she happily shakes her head.

"Very well."

Closing his eyes, the entire place begins to change.

White marble floors transform into lush green grass.

Trees miraculously sprout as painted rivers form.

Sounds of birds singing fill the air as flowers sprout in numbers.

North and Perez look around in awe.

So this was the power of Pitch.

Looking at each other they noticed that they were now completely clean and good as new.

This really was The Warren. It was everything her father told her it would be.

Giggling she runs towards a hill covered in butterflies.

Running through, she laughs uncontrollably as the butterflies gently fly around her.

Laughing, she stops when a blue butterfly suddenly lands on her nose.

Crossing her eyes she stares as it slowly opens and closes its wings before flying away.

North smiled upon seeing the girl blissfully play on the hill as butterflies swarmed around her. He knew deep down that somewhere out there Bunny was smiling at his little girl.

Walking over Pitch kneels down and takes Sophie's hand.

"This is now your home Sophie. I leave The Warren in your care. "

North couldn't be happier for the girl. She finally had found a place where she could call home.

He had only wish Bunny was here to see it for himself.

The girl stares deeply into Pitch's orange eyes as he tries to have a conversation with her.

"You may not realize it now Sophie, but one day you're going to play a very important role in saving this world and the next. In the mean time you're going to need all the help that you can get."

Gently pulling his hand away from the girl's, he cups his hands together.

"And for that purpose I gift you this."

His hands light up as the girl stares down mesmerized.

Upon opening his hands the girl gasps.

Cupped in hands lied a newborn grayish blue bunny with a tiny spring emblem on his forehead.

North couldn't believe it.

Sophie looks up excitingly as if asking Pitch for permission to take the bunny from him.

He nods and gently passes the bunny over to her.

"This is your Guardian. He might be tiny now, but if you believe in him with all your heart he will one day grow to be big and strong."

Lifting the tiny bunny, she lovingly cradles him in her arms.

Wrinkling his nose, the baby bunny slowly flutters its eyes open revealing his beautiful forest green eyes.

"You must promise that you will watch over him for me."

Giggling she pulls the bunny into a loving hug as she nods at Pitch.

Smiling, he stands up to now face North.

"As for you I believe it's time for to go back to where you're needed and missed."

Taking a deep breath North nods.

He walks over to Sophie and Perez.

"I guess this is goodbye my friends."

He gently pets Perez's head.

"Thank you Perez, for everything. We wouldn't have made it this far without you."

The mouse couldn't help but cry over the idea of saying goodbye.

"Goo…goodbye sir!"

Placing his hand up, he salutes North.

Looking over to Sophie, his eyes meet with her beautiful green ones. He places a loving kiss on her forehead.

"Be good Sophie. I'm really going to miss you."

"Bye Bye Uncle North. I'll miss you."

Tears well up in North's eyes as he gives the girl another kiss.

Looking down, he stares in awe at the bunny that she was so affectionately cradling.

Smiling he remembers a quote shared to him by the Bunny of his world.

_Where there's hope,there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again._

"Take good care of him Sophie."

She gives him a nod as she lifts and presses the bunny against her cheek.

Placing a kiss on his finger, he places it over the spring emblem residing on the baby bunny's forehead.

"Goodbye my dear friend. I will never forget you."

"It's time."

Getting up he turns and walks over to Pitch.

With a simple nod he signals for Pitch to open the portal.

Closing his eyes, Pitch waves his hands into the air and stops as a light forms around him.

Pointing forward he shoots a ball of energy to form a portal.

There inside, North could see his workshop.

"Home…"

Perez begins to jump up and down while happily waving his hat around.

"Bye North! We'll miss you! Thank you!"

Sophie takes the baby bunny and forces it to wave goodbye.

"Bye! We wove you!"

North looks up to Pitch, who lowers his arm to point towards the portal.

Doubtful, North hesitates for a moment.

Pitch places a hand on his shoulder and reassures the man that the decision he was making was the right one.

"You have done more than enough for this world North. You have brought hope back where hope was lost. Thank you…Guardian."

It was all he needed to hear.

Stepping forward he closes his eyes and jumps.

His workshop was filled to capacity.

Yetis tore the place apart as Jack, Tooth, Sandy, and Bunny try frantically to find a sign as to where North could be.

Jack sloppily swats away papers listing the names of children on North's Naughty and Nice list.

"Where could he have gone!? I mean what if we never see him again?"

Bunny stops what he's doing and angrily walks towards the winter sprite.

"Don't say that! We're goin' ta find him. Even if it's the last thing we do!"

Tooth was beginning to lose faith on the idea.

It has been days and they have yet to make sense on exactly what had happened.

The only thing they knew was that North was working on some snow globes before vanishing.

"Maybe he's on a vacation of some sort!"

Bunny gives the woman a stern talking to as he replies back,

"A week before Christmas!? Come on Tooth get it together!"

"No need to be nasty about it!"

Jack joins in on Tooth's defense.

"Yeah cotton tail! Last time I checked you had a fight with him! If anything this is your fault!"

Gasping Tooth stares over to Bunny,

"You had a fight with North!?"

"Wha-what! ? How is this MY fault!? What me and North were discussin' about is none of your business!"

Sandy was too tired to help. It was until he notices a light forming in the corner of the room.

Excited, he gets up and tries to inform to the group who were too busy arguing with each other to notice.

Sighing in frustration, Sandy walks over and grabs one of North's elves.

Positioning himself in front of the group he gives the elf a hard shake.

The ringing, forces the group to look in his general direction.

Bothered that he had stopped them in mid conversation they yell in unison.

"WHAT!?"

He points over to where the light was coming from.

A portal suddenly opens filling the room with a blinding light.

Covering their eyes, they wait for the light to dim before looking directly back at the portal.

They all gasp upon realizing exactly who it was walking towards them.

They all smile and cheer as North steps through and reveals himself to the group.

With the portal closing behind him, he looks up and smiles.

"Is good to finally be home."

In unison they all shout,

"NORTH!"

They all run up to him and hug him minus one Guardian who thought it was best if he hanged tight as the others welcomed their friend back.

Jack takes the initiative and interrogates the man on his latest venture.

"Where were you?"

Tooth flutters above the man's head, speed talking through her questions.

"How long were you gone for? Did you lose some weight? Did you bring me back a souvenir?"

Sandy had questions of his own, but even his sand show taking place above his head was no match for the out spoken voices of Jack and Tooth.

He pays no mind to the group as his eyes stay stuck on the Pooka who was standing by the corner with his arms crossed.

"Bunny…"

The way he said it took the Pooka off guard.

Coughing he attempts to hide the blush creeping across his face.

"North."

Walking over, the Pooka gives the man a hard punch across the shoulder.

"Don't yoos EVER do that again! Had us all worried sick!"

Rubbing his shoulder, North smiles as tears begin to form in his eyes.

With no warning he pulls the Pooka into a loving hug.

The group remains speechless, as North continued to hug the rabbit tightly.

Looking around Bunny notices that all eyes are on them.

Embarrassed he pulls away from the man.

"Um-uh! COUGH* Good ta have yoos back mate."

Clearly flustered he walks out of the room.

Tooth looks over to Jack for answers, who responds by giving her a shrug.

North marches forward and chases after the rabbit.

"Bunny! Wait!"

The Pooka tries to compose himself as he turns to face the man.

"North I-"

Not saying a word North grabs Bunny by the arm and pulls him into his bedroom.

Turning around he locks the door and faces the startled Pooka.

"Wh-what are yoos doin'?"

"No more running Bunny! I need to know right now! How do you feel about me?"

Bunny couldn't believe that after all these days North was still not over their last conversation.

"Really!? You want to discuss this now!? North we spent days lookin' for yoos. We're tired and Christmas is just a couple of days away. Can't it wait?"

"No, no it can't."

"Here we bloody go again! I'm tryin' ta tell yoos something and it's like you're not even listening to me! Why can't you understand tha -"

"I do understand! I understand that there is nothing more important than now because tomorrow may never come!"

"What are yoos talkin' about!? I'm here aren't I!?"

"Then tell me how you truly feel about me!"

Taking his paw he begins to uncomfortably rub the back of his neck.

"Its-ugh! Its…ITS DIFFICULT!"

Determined for an answer North pushes through.

"WHY!?"

Bunny couldn't believe it. North really wasn't going to let this go.

"**WHY** is this so important to you?!"

"Answer the question Bunny!"

"Drop it North! "

"WHY!?

Fed up the Pooka finally screams,

"IT'S BECAUSE I'M SCARED NORTH! It's…It's because I'm bloody scared."

North doesn't say a word.

After a couple of minutes of letting the tension pass, North finally asks,

"What are you scared of?"

Brushing his ears back he sadly confesses to the man.

"I'm scared that I won't be able ta handle the idea of us not workin' out. Somethin's are better left alone…understand?"

Charging forward North pulls the Pooka into a kiss.

Surprised, Bunny easily melts into the kiss and lovingly wraps his arms around the man. He didn't want to admit it, but he wanted this so bad.

Breathing deeply Bunny slowly pulls away and stares intensely into North's ice blue eyes.

Chocking up a bit, he pounds his fist into North's broad chest.

"I was so scared that I was never goin' ta see yoos again!"

Tears were now streaming down North's eyes.

"Bunny..."

This was the first time the Pooka ever saw him cry.

Reaching up he gently places his paw against the man's rosy cheek.

"Don't cry North. I don't like ta see a grown man like yourself cry."

Closing his eyes, North lovingly presses his forehead against the Pooka's.

It felt so good to be this close to him.

Pressing down on his lips Bunny nervously says,

"I care for you mate. More than you'll ever know."

North lovingly places a kiss on Bunny's forehead as he whispers into his ear.

"But I do Bunny… I really really do."

Lifting his chin he pulls the Pooka into a deep passionate kiss.

Speechless, Bunny smiles and places a loving hand against North's cheek.

"Welcome home mate…welcome home."

**THE END **

**I'm taking a vacation. I don't think any of my stories has destroyed my emotions as much as this one did. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Any further updates you may receive about this story is just edits here and there considering this site made some words vanish. I have no idea why but it really bothers me that some of the dialogues in the first 2 chapters don't make sense because of words disappearing. PLEASE let me know what you think. I am really proud with how this story turned out and hope those who ship North/Bunny had a great read. I'm really going to miss this story. It's going to be kind of weird not running to my computer to finish the next chapter. Thanks to everybody who took time to review! I'm so happy that this story took you though an emotional rollercoaster. I personally love reading stories that tug at my emotions and I hope I was able to accomplish that with this one! HUGS ALL AROUND! :D **


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